Development of digital camera technology based on DSP

As a leader in DSP, Texas Instruments (TI) of the United States also leads in digital camera applications. First, it implemented image compression based on the TMS320C54x general-purpose platform, then integrated the discrete devices for image front-end processing into a dedicated chip, and then combined the two into one and integrated the ARM7 general-purpose processor, which is the TMS320DSC2x series general-purpose digital camera platform. This is the industry's first single-chip image processing system architecture (SOC) created by TI, and then it has continuously improved the performance and functions of the platform and successfully promoted upgrades.

　　At the same time, attempts to implement digital network cameras on general-purpose DSPs have never stopped, and the real breakthrough is the MJPEG real-time processing system implemented by TI's DSP experts using C6211. Although the periphery still needs a lot of discrete time, relying on the high-speed parallel processing capabilities of C6x, its video performance is at an excellent level in the industry. Its functions can already meet the basic needs of digital monitoring, and the system is relatively accepted by the market at that time, so it was quickly put into practical use, and the productization process in China did not lag behind the international market. With the advent of the general-purpose digital media processor DM642, digital network cameras have a higher degree of integration, and can support real-time H.264, and have integrated video ports and Ethernet interfaces. The contribution of DM642 to digital video surveillance is epoch-making, and its success is not only in network cameras, but also in digital video servers, video compression cards, embedded hard disk recorders, etc.

　　The continued innovation of image SOC is reflected in the integration of coprocessors in core processing, which first supports image and then video enhancement capabilities; the controller is upgraded from ARM7 to ARM9; and the front-end processing is also upgraded from image to video functions. So far, the product has risen from the DSC series to DM270, DM320 and DM355. The DM series means Digital Media, which not only supports JPEG static image compression, but also supports MPEG-4 real-time processing, so it is already an ideal platform for digital cameras. Expanding the Ethernet interface of this device is a network camera, and DM355 can support real-time MPEG-4 with a resolution of 720P. Since this system has a video pre-processing subsystem VPSS, it can be directly connected to the video sensor. The possibility of ISP processing on the main chip makes the network camera reach a higher level of integration.

　　Later, following the path of DM642, the DM644x series called "Da Vinci" was developed, which is a SOC platform integrating ARM9, DSP and VPSS. Therefore, many products supporting D1 real-time H.264 were migrated to this platform to improve integration. Later, following the footsteps of DM355, DM365 was developed. The only thing that remains unchanged is the 720P HD performance, but it supports H.264 and has an Ethernet interface. The front end is also a veritable ISP unit.

　　In short, DSP launched the camera market, which promoted the development of the digital video surveillance market, and SOC with it as the core has made this driving force move towards higher and newer technological fields.