A Low Complexity VLSI Architecture for Multi-Focus Image Fusion in DCT Domain

TL;DR

This paper introduces a low complexity VLSI architecture for multi-focus image fusion in the DCT domain, enabling high-speed processing of 4K images with low power consumption suitable for portable devices.

Contribution

It proposes a novel low complexity VLSI design for multi-focus image fusion in DCT domain, optimized for FPGA implementation with high speed and low power usage.

Findings

Achieves 221 MHz FPGA frequency

Processes 4K images at 60 fps

Consumes 42% FPGA resources

Abstract

Due to the confined focal length of optical sensors, focusing all objects in a scene with a single sensor is a difficult task. To handle such a situation, image fusion methods are used in multi-focus environment. Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) is a widely used image compression transform, image fusion in DCT domain is an efficient method. This paper presents a low complexity approach for multi-focus image fusion and its VLSI implementation using DCT. The proposed method is evaluated using reference/non-reference fusion measure criteria and the obtained results asserts it's effectiveness. The maximum synthesized frequency on FPGA is found to be 221 MHz and consumes 42% of FPGA resources. The proposed method consumes very less power and can process 4K resolution images at the rate of 60 frames per second which makes the hardware suitable for handheld portable devices such as camera module and wireless image sensors.