337
An Architecture for Enhancing Image Processing via Parallel Genetic Algorithms & Data
Compression
B.C.H Turton, T Arslan
University of Wales, LJK
Introduction
Vision systems require processing techniques
which are robust, fast and capable of dealing
with large quantities of data. Genetic
algorithms have been used with such systems
because of the first of these criteria, as is
exemplified in the works of Fitzpatriclk 1984,
Mandava 1989, McAulay 1989 [l-31. Early
work in genetic algorithms [ 1,2] demonstrated
the usehlness of image registration, hiowever
the timescales involved made rtal-time
registration impractical. Using this technique
the genetic algorithm (GA) seeks to adapt the
chromosomes to find the transform that best
maps the reference image to an observed
image. The transform can be used to
determine the position, orientation and size of
an object for use in manufacturing
environments. Alternatively the transform is
used to obtain a 'best fit' before a comparison
is made between the reference and observed
images. However many applications of this
type require an algorithm that works in real-
time (sub one second timescale). Turton et a1
[4] designed the first real-time genetic
algorithm for this purpose by using a Parallel
Genetic Algorithm and a specialist VLSI
architecture. The VLSI architecture made
maximum use of the simple bitwise
manipulation involved in standard crossover
operators whilst the parallel genetic algorithm
allows a linear improvement in time required
with the number of chromosomes.
A variety of forms of Parallel IGenetic
Algorithm (PGA) exist, a simple parallelising
of a standard GA is the least t:fficient
technique. The two main methods are coarse-
grain and fine-grain genetic algorithms. The
former method uses a single processor to run a
population of chromosomes over several
generations and occasionally, every 'epoch',
exchanges fit individuals with other processors
(populations). The latter method processes
each chromosome individually [5]. Typically a
fine g a i n PGA has an order of magnitude
more parallel processes than the coarse grain
PGA. For traditional applications the: coarse
grain approach typically uses tens of standard
Genetic Algorithms in Engineering Systems: Innovations and Applications
12-14 September 1995, Conference Publication No. 414,O IEE, 1995
processors to run populations in parallel.
However if a fine-grain approach is used with
a specialist VLSI architecture over a hundred
chromosomes can be processed in parallel thus
dramatically decreasing the time required to
converge to a solution. Normally
interprocessor communications are a limiting
factor, however if a specialist architecture is
implemented such limitations can be
overcome by careful design. Consequently a
fine-grain PGA was chosen due to its
massively parallel nature. Results fiom earlier
work [4] suggested that the black & white
images tested (64x64 pixel, lbit/pixel) could
be processed in less than 10 milliseconds, thus
making the technique practical for real-time
applications. However it is desirable to extend
the technique to larger images. In order to
evaluate each chromosome independently a
local copy of the image is required.
Consequently the design is limited by the chip
area available for storing an image per
chromosome. In addition the evaluation time
per chromosome is proportional to the number
of pixels in the image. This paper improves
the original PGA by applying data
compression techniques to the image in order
to minimise the data manipulated by the
chromosomes. Image registration is performed
in the compressed domain and the
chromosomes encode the transform in this
domain. The transform must then be
convmed back to the 'real' world domain for
practical use. Consequently the chip area can
be decreased by the compression factor, and
the processing time for the image can be
improved.
A variety of compression techniques can be
used for example P E G , Fractal, various forms
of Discrete Cosine Transform @CT), run
length encoding, H&an encoding,
Arithmetic encoding. For image registration
purposes the compression method must be fast
and provide a good compression ratio. The
compression method does not have to be
lossless. Of the aforementioned techniques
P E G (which utilises a combination of
techniques), Fractal & DCT are lossy
techniques that have good compression ratios
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161. DCT is the easiest method to implement
efficiently on-chip. Consequently the DCT
compression method was chosen as an
effective lossy compression technique for
reducing the image size. Additional benefits to
using a lossy algorithm include the ability to
compress the image to a fixed compressed
image size. This permits a variety of sizes of
image to be processed on a chip with limited
memory per chromosome. Consequently this
system is far more flexible than the original
method. The technique and its implications
are described in this paper along with
simulated results for a number of images.
Conclusions and future developments are
subsequently discussed.
Parallel Genetic Alporithm for vision
A brief background to Parallel Genetic
Algorithms (PGAs) can be found in [7]. For
this application each chromosome specifies a
two-dimensional transform which maps a
reference image to an external image. The
images are 64x64 byte greyscale images. The
transform contains information about scale,
rotation and position. A measure of the
accuracy of the transform is found by
summing the absolute error between the
transformed reference image and the external
image. The known largest possible error
would be 220.1n order to make the largest
number the best match the ‘fitness’ of the
chromosome is measured as 2*’-the absolute
error. Once the transform which produces the
best match (highest value) has been identified
the position orientation and scale of the target
can be determined.
The transform used will be:
I=RT (1)
Where I is the real image, T is the transform
and R is the reference image
The Transform is a 3x2 matrix
Here S-refers to a scaling factor, I$ to rotation
and ~0 & yo are position o&b.
Each element of the matrix is stored in the
chromosome as a six bit value with the
exception of the offsets which are only stored
to three bit accuracy. However if the original
image were used the memory requirements
would be large, consequently a DCT
compressed version of the external image and
the reference image are used.
DCT Comuression
The DCT takes the image in sets of 4x4
blocks. Each 4x4 block is separately
transformed (figure 1). The transformed block
is not necessarily stored to the same resolution
as the original. This allows some compression
of the image. Consequently the number
produced after transformation is usually
divided by some factor and then quantised
before storage. The transformed block is
related to the Discrete Fourier transform and
can be regarded as the relative magnitudes of
the two dimensional spatial frequencies which
make up the picture. Images concentrate most
of the information in the lower spatial
frequencies. Consequently an image can be
compressed by not storing the higher
frequencies as accurately as the lower
frequencies. For this work the higher
frequencies (top half of the spectrum) is set to
zero and the lower frequencies are only stored
to 4 bit accuracy. The consequence of this is to
reduce the storage capacity required per
chromosome by a factor of four. The equations
for transforming the image are,
( 2 x + 1)un.ws--]( 2 y + 1)vrr (3)
f ( x , r ) = [u=o~“=o~ ‘ ( . ) “ ( v ) F ( . , 8. ) . w s ~ 8
Where C(0) =I/+ else C()=1
Difficulties arise using this technique in
dealing appropriately with the transform
domain. The position of the 8x8 blocks
conforms to the normal equation { 1} however
the fiequency distribution changes when
scaling & rotation occurs. OfEsets have no
affect on the frequency distributions within a
block because only ofEsets corresponding to
complete block movements have been
permitted in this work. Scaling can be
properly incorporated as fiequency changes
inversely with the scale in each dmension.
Further work will be required to properly
compensate for rotational movement.
Hardware Im~lementation
DCT has been widely recognised as the most
effective technique for image and video
compression and its single chip
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implementation has already been reported
[8,9]. For the hardware implementation
proposed in this paper DCT is only applied
once prior to commencing the genetic
evolution for image registration. Hence, it was
decided to perform the DCT off-chip since it is
not a speed critical task in the case of this
application. Incorporating the DCT algorithm
on-chip will further increase both the
complexity and the computational intensity of
the proposed architecture.
The proposed hardware could be divided into
four main blocks as shown in figure 2. The
€allowing is a brief description of each block:
Block A :performs the following functions:
Selection of the best of the four neighbours;
Crossover and mutation; Deposition of the
best individual, from the contents of registers
(REGO, REG1, REG2) into REG2.
The genetic evolution commences when an
external chromosome (CHROMOi) is
deposited in REGO which is subsequently
duplicated in REG1 and REG2. The Register
Control Logic (RCL) is the block responsible
for handling the transfer of data among the
registers above.
An appropriate control signal on multiplexer
MUX1 will select either the four neighibouring
chromosomes (Cs . . . Ce) or the chromosomes
in the registers (REGO, REG1, and REG2).
The same control signal will be used to select
the corresponding fimess values via
multiplexer MUX14. The ‘elogic will enable
MUX2 to select the best chromosome and
place it in REG2. RCL will ensure that the
appropriate fimess value is passed to FREG2.
The signal MIX is applied externally to the
processor to indicate whether a c r o s ~ ~ or
er
mutation should take place in which caise a 16-
bit random number @No) to indicate the
appropriate position(s). In the case of
crossover RNo is split into two individual %bit
numbers by another logic block (MXCL) in
order to provide the positions requirrd for a
two point-crossover. In the case of mutation
only a single 8-bit number is extracted fiom
RNO.
Block B :is responsible for fitness evaluation
of chromosomes. This is performed either
after possible crossover/mutation or during the
optimisation process. The appropriate control
signal on MUX8 will select a chramosome
fiom one of the above two destinations..
As can be seen from figure 2 the circuit
consists of two similar sections. The top
section is for the calculation of x’ while the
bottom section calculates y” ( x’ and y” are the
x-y co-ordinate addresses for the transformed
pixel of the image). The calculation of x’
commences by depositing the value of a13 in
register Rxi. This value is used till the end of
the x-axis is reached (monitored by the
counter C1) at which case R x O is loaded into
Rxi. This operation continues till the complete
image is processed. A similar procedure is
followed €or y’ in the lower section. Both x’
and y’ are evaluated in parallel.
Block C : processes the twelve bit address
corresponding to x’ and y’ so that it could be
mapped to the compact frame buffer FB. This
process involves separating the most
significant three bits of the x‘ and y’ addresses,
i.e. the bits responsible for identifying a
transform block, into a separate six bit bus.
This will allow the use of a simple logic
fimction, DL3, to map the six bit addresses of
the individual pixels (within a transform
block) to be mapped into five bit address. The
resulting eleven bit address will be used to
identify the individual pixel in the frame
buffer for fimess comparison.
Block E :After the calculation of x’ and y’ the
corresponding pixel is extracted fiom a 2Kx4
Frame Buffer (FB) and is compared with the
corresponding pixel of the reference image. If
a match is detected then C3 is incremented
during which the count is stored in register
Rft. When the whole image is processed, one
of the following is performed :
1. If the fitness is being calculated for a
chromosome transferred from REG2
(after possible crossover), then the final
fitness, calculated here, will be moved to
FREG2 by enabling the appropriate
control signals on DX5, MX12, and DXO.
2. IC however, the fimess is being evaluated
for a chromosome during the optimisation
phase, then it is compared with the
previous fitness value in the register
Ipftmp (at the start of the evaluation phase
Ipftmp =O), which stores the best fitness
seen so far during optimisation, and the
corresponding chromosome is stored in
RCtmp. If the fitness value is better than
the one in Rftmp, then it is copied to
Rftmp and its associated chromosome is
transferred to RCtmp, otherwise the
chromosome in RC is incremented or
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decremented depending on the state of the
counter C4 (see below).
The optimisation phase commences by moving
the chromosome in REG2 to RC. MX13
selects each parameter sequentially
incrementing and then decrementing its value
(decided by the code produced by the counter
C4). The chromosome produced is then
presented to the evaluation section by enabling
MX8 which should be enabled with the
appropriate code signalling the use of the
evaluation section in the optimisation phase.
The design was evaluated using a 1 p ES2
CMOS process, in which an individual
chromosome could be processed in
approximately 2 milliseconds.
Results
The result of using this technique are given in
figure 3. Each image has six separate PGA
runs with the average result for each
generation plotted. In addition for picture A
the best result for each generation is plotted.
Clearly the technique has managed to find the
optimum solution in some cases (2'' =
104000). Investigation of the results which do
not reach the optimum result show that a local
minimum has been reached where one of the
scaling factors has collapsed to a suboptimal
value. Limitations on the permissible change
in scale would substantially assist this
problem.
In addition the coefficients found under
transformation do have some limitations in
this implementation. In particular the offsets
are only coarsely calculated, to the nearest 8x8
block. This limitation is imposed because a
simple OW in the compressed domain is not
equivalent to an o a e t in the original domain
unless it is by an integer number of blocks. A
more advanced version of this algorithm
would be able to adjust for this effect thus
permitting more accurate comparisons.
Conclusion
The suggested hardware provides a realistic
method of comparing greyscale images within
the limits of existing technology. Convergence
~ a f l be e;rcpected within 2 milliseconds.
Multiple GA runs can be initiated to decrease
the chances of producing a suboptimal value
from a local optimum. However there are
severe restrictions on the transformation
algorithm used. More advanced algorithms are
required to allow accurate measurement of
offsets and rotations and rules should be
incorporated to guide the PGA into legitimate
regions. These must all be provided for in
hardware and consequently will require
firrther research into algorithms which are
both effective and simple to implement in
hardware using commonplace technology.
References
1. Fieatrick J.M, Grefenstette J.J and Van
Gucht D (1984) 'Image Registration by
Genetic Search' IEEE SouthEastcon pp
460-64
2. Mandava V.R, Fitzpatrick J.M and
Pickens D.R (1989) 'Adaptive Search
Space Scaling in Digital Image
Registration' IEEE Transactions on
Medical Imaging MI-8 No 3 pp 25 1-62
3. McAulay A.D and Oh J.C ' (1989) Image
Learning Classifier System Using Genetic
Algorithms' IEEE pp 705-10
4. Turton B.C.H, Arslan T, Horrocks D.H
(1994) 'A Hardware Architecture for a
Parallel Genetic Algorithm for Image
Registration' IEE Colloquium on "Genetic
Algorithms in Image Processing and
Vision" Digest No: 1994/193 ppl111-6
5. Petty C.C and Leuze M.R (1989) ' A
Theoretical Investigation of a Parallel
Genetic Algorithm' in Proceedings of the
third International Conference on Genetic
Algorithms Schaffer J.D (Ed) Morgan
Kautinann Publishers pp 398-405
6. Wallace G.K (1992) 'The P E G still
picture compression standard' IEEE
Transactions on Consumer Electronics 38
NO 1 pp 18-34
7. Turton B.C.H, Arslan T (1995) 'A
Parallel Genetic VLSI Architecture for
Combinatorial Real-Time Applications -
Disc Scheduling' First IEE/IEEE
International Conference on Genetic
Algorithms in Engineering
Systems:Innovations & Applications
Conference.
8. Sun M-T, Chen T-C, and Gottlieb A. M
(1989) 'VLSI Implementation of a 16x16
Discrete Cosine Transform' IEEE Trans.
ccts & SYS Vol. 36, NO. 4 610-17.
9. Chiu C . T, Kolagotla R K, and Jaja J.F
(1994) 'VLSI Implementation of Real-
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0-7803-5.
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1
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F R E G O

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While mom blocks

Figure 2: DCT Conversion Process

Parallel GALResults

950000
- Picture A, Average
-

900000 - - - Picture B, Average

850000 Picture C, Average
---- Picture A, Best
800000
Picture B, Best
750000 - - - _ _.Picture C Best

Figure 3: Results averaged over ten PGA Runs, 128 Chromosomes