How to give crime-fighters a flexible, high-performance edge with programmable logic

By David Auyeung, Altera
dspdesignline.com (July 23, 2008)

Abstract

From data mining to gunshot detection systems, high-tech tools provide law enforcement agencies with a faster, easier way to collect and interpret data. These applications, however, tend to be complex, must adapt to evolving requirements, and must be affordable for limited budgets.

As such, programmable logic solutions are proving to be an ideal fit as systems designers take advantage of their reprogrammability, cost-effectiveness, and high performance.

This article examines the use of FPGAs and soft-core embedded processors in two crime-fighting applications, a fingerprint identification system and a wireless auto-tracking camera integrated into a police vehicle.

With high-tech tools becoming an increasingly critical part of the crime-fighting arsenal, it's no wonder that law enforcement and security professionals are constantly seeking faster and easier ways to collect and interpret data. Applications for this space tend to be complex, must adapt to evolving requirements, and must also be affordable for organizations with limited budgets. That said, programmable logic solutions are proving to be an ideal fit, offering high performance, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness.

Equipped with FPGAs and embedded soft-core processors, two teams of university students applied their creativity to create two prototypical crime-fighting applications – a police vehicle support system with a wireless auto-tracking camera and a fingerprint identification system that prevents security breaches. These teams leveraged the flexibility of FPGAs to create high-performance systems, and simplified their designs by integrating all the necessary components on a single programmable chip.

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