This paper describes the HKUST MultiMap system, a hardware system we have developed to support the computation and integration of large numbers of neurally inspired feature maps at frame rates. The computed maps could serve as the basis for a generic image representation to enable robots to perform a variety of different tasks. In order to support the computation of feature representations with increasing complexity, the system can split the processing among a scalable number of processors, each on a different printed circuit board. We describe the hardware design of this board, as well as the communication protocol between different boards. Our experimental results on a four board system validate the performance of the proposed communication protocol. As an example of the applications enabled by this system, we describe a robotic binocular tracking system built by using it.
['Yicong Meng', 'Eric K. C. Tsang', 'Stanley Y. M. Lam', 'Bertram E. Shi']
THE HKUST MULTIMAP SYSTEM FOR ACTIVE VISION