Abstract

This paper demonstrates fast, two-dimensional (2D) image processing for disparity detection using optoelectronic neuro-devices, including an optical neurochip¹ and an artificial retina.² The artificial retina is useful as a front end for edge detection, and the optical neurochip is used as a fast correlator to process the data from the artificial retina in the pipeline. Disparity detection for stereo vision is implemented by combining these devices. The advantage of using these optoelectronic chips is their fast processing speed, which is two orders of magnitude faster than that of a conventional CCD/DSP system, because our artificial retina can process images directly within 3 μsec, and the optical neurochip can calculate a correlation with a clock rate of 10 MHz. Such neuro-devices are based on a novel type of a photodetector called variable-sensitivity photodetector (VSPD),³ which is highly suitable for image processing because it comprises the function of data processing and analog memory as well as image detection.

© 1995 IEEE