Abstract
We present a VLSI synthesis environment dedicated to the design of image processing architectures. The environment includes a “front-end” data-flow emulator for validation of the algorithms and the RTL-synthesis system called ALPHA. The latter implements a stochastic search in the design space and produces efficient solutions considering the “restricted” domain of concerned applications. Two simulated Annealing (SA) algorithms run in sequence for data-path synthesis (scheduling and module selection) and then for control synthesis and data-path completion (binding). An interesting feature of the first optimization is the use of the data-flow graph regularity to predict the control influence in terms of the future design. A few designs have already been compiled under this environment including a default detector presented here.