Data processing system for logically close data sample such as image data in machine vision system

摘要

A data extraction processor receives data, such as image data, at a high rate of speed and generates processed results, generally at a much lower overall data rate. This sort of processing is particularly useful for machine vision image data, because it can reduce a large image data set to a much smaller data set that is more immediately useful for the currently running application. The data extraction processor may include a segmentation processor, a gradient processor, or other similar types of data extraction processors. The disclosed data extraction processor includes a data flow controller which provides image data to the processors and receives the results from the processors. The data flow controller includes at least one FIFO (first-in, first-out) memory, which allows for the provision of data to the data extraction processor and the receipt of result data therefrom to occur at different rates. Since data extraction algorithms usually generate much less data that they receive, the data flow controller stalls the flow of output data while the analysis proceeds through the data. In some image-dependent situations, however, the analysis may generate more data than it receives. In these situations, the data flow controller stalls the incoming data while the additional results are generated.