Abstract
This paper describes a system called DIP which was designed to perform experiments conveniently for development of new approaches in image processing. Image processing experiments require many but inhomogeneous functional devices such as video digitizers for data collection, conventional computers, special hardware for data proceesing, display devices and image memories for temporary store. Systems for the experiments have to select functional devices and to perform them efficiently according to user's programs. Especially, systems must realize high speed transfer of image data, because each frame of TV images contains huge amount of data and transfers of image data are frequently repeated among functional davices in experiments. For realizing an efficient system, switching mechanisms are considered to play important roles. In DIP a network system is implemented for programmable interconnection of functional devices. Distributed control mechanism is adopted for control of the system. Each functional device is activated and performed by control data broadcasted from a computer via the network. Computers never supervise each control sequence of selected functional devices. With the network system any two devices are connected directly and an image data is transferred via the network at a high speed. In additions users can extend and change configuration of the system with ease, according to their demands, because DIP can allow to contain more than one computer and any kind of functional devices.
