Engineers at Flir Systems have cut the time taken to develop thermal imaging FPGA algorithms by 60 per cent using simulation software from MathWorks. By using Matlab to design, simulate, and evaluate algorithms, and HDL Coder to implement the best algorithms on FPGAs, Flir was able to speed development, complete enhancements in hours instead of weeks, and reuse code for prototyping and production.
With Matlab and HDL Coder, Flir’s algorithm engineers produce FPGA prototypes themselves instead of handing written specifications to hardware engineers, who may not have full knowledge of the algorithm. This new thermal imaging algorithm development workflow also eliminates the error-prone step of translating algorithms to HDL by hand, adding time for developers to try more design iterations.
‘With Matlab and HDL Coder we are much more responsive to marketplace needs. We now embrace change, because we can take a new idea to a real-time-capable hardware prototype in just a few weeks,’ said Nicholas Hogasten, image processing technology manager at Flir Systems.
