Implementation of super high definition image processing on HiPIPE

In order to manipulate SHD (super high definition) images, a novel parallel processing unit called HiPIPE (Highly Parallel Image Processing Engine) is developed as a project of NOVI-II. The engine is connected to an SHD image display unit and an image data storage unit. Extremely high computational power is obtained by a multicomputer type parallel processing technique. 128 processing elements are connected by a mesh network. Various image coding schemes are carefully explored from the viewpoint of parallel processing, and the problem of processor connections is examined. A novel load-balancing technique, called 2-dimensional butterfly data shuffling, is developed and implemented. The current version of HiPIPE uses just 128 scalar processing elements and has more than twice the power of a single-processor CRAY-2 for a still SHD image coding task.<<ETX>>