FPGA architecture-based front-end processing for SLAM applications

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping is intended for robotic and autonomous vehicle applications. These targets require an optimal embedded implementation that respects real-time constraints, limited hardware resources, and energy consumption. SLAM algorithms are computationally intensive to run on embedded targets, and often, the algorithms are deployed on CPUs or CPU–GPGPU architectures. With the growth of embedded heterogeneous computing systems, research work is increasingly interested in the algorithm–architecture mapping of existing SLAM algorithms. The latest trend is pushing processing closer to the sensor. FPGAs constitute the perfect architecture for designing smart sensors by providing low latency suitable for real-time applications, such as video streaming, as they supply data directly into the FPGA without needing a CPU. In this work, we propose the implementation of the HOOFR-SLAM front end on a CPU–FPGA architecture, including both feature extraction and matching processing blocks. A high-level synthesis (HLS) approach based on OpenCL paradigm has been used to design a new system architecture. The performance of the FPGA-based architecture was compared to a high-performance CPU. This innovative architecture delivers superior performance compared to existing state-of-the-art systems.