How to make an FPGA Partially Reconfigurable

Partially reconfiguration means changing the FPGA partially or only the selected part of the FPGA is reconfigured. It can be done in two ways:

i)    Module based partial reconfiguration
Partial reconfiguration on the basis of difference

Module based partial reconfiguration:

In module based reconfiguration we reconfigure on the specific module or only by changing a selected module we can do the partially reconfiguration of our FPGA. The portions of the design to be reconfigured are known as reconfigurable modules. Specific properties and specific layout criteria must be met with respect to a reconfigurable module, FPGA design intending to use partial reconfiguration must be planned and laid out with that in mind.

Partial reconfiguration on the basis of difference:

Partial reconfiguration on the basis of difference is a method of making small changes in an FPGA design, such as changing I/O standards, LUT equations, and block RAM content.

Applications:

i)    To lessen power or making the design power-efficient.
ii)    Through the JTRS Program, SDRs are becoming a reality for the defense industries as an effective and necessary tool for communication. SDRs assure the JTRS standard by having both a software-reprogrammable operating environment and the ability to support multiple channels and networks simultaneously.
iii)    Partial reconfiguration is useful in a variety of applications across many industries. The aerospace and defense industries have certainly taken advantage of its capabilities.
iv)    Increased system performance. Although a portion of the design is being reconfigured, the rest of the system can keep on to operate. There is no loss of performance or functionality with unaffected portions of a design.
v)    Hardware sharing. Because partial reconfiguration allows you to run multiple applications on a single FPGA, hardware sharing is realized. Benefits include reduced device count, reduced power consumption, smaller boards, and in particular lower costs.

key steps used in Xilinx to make the FPGA partially Reconfigured:

1: First Create Processor Hardware System.
2: Then Create Software Project.
3: After then Create a Plan ahead Project.
4: Defining a Reconfigurable Partition.
5: Adding Reconfigurable Modules.
6: significant the Reconfigurable Partition Region.
7: Running the Design Rule Checker.
 8: Then Create the First Configuration, Implementing, and Promoting.
9: Then Create Other Configurations, and Implementing.
10: Then Run Partial Reconfiguration to Verify Utility.
11: Generating Bit Files.
12: Creating an Image, and Testing.

Advantages:

There are many advantages to make the FPGA reconfigured. only some from them are following:

I)    To make the device more efficient.
II)    To lessen the LUTs of the design by replacing only specific portion.
III)    To lessen power of the design by replacing only specific portion.
IV)    To lessen the delay of the design by replacing only specific portion or a specific module.




                                                                                                                   
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Surround View System for Vehicles and its Advantages for Drivers

ADAS - Advanced Driving Assistance System is a very popular research area all around the globe and has unbelievable future scope. Within ADAS, the latest developing area and market is of Surround view system or Surround vision or Top view system. These systems are meant to provide a central display of the vehicle to the driver from the perspective of a bird's vision.  Hence, another name given to such systems is "Birds' eye view". A glimpse of Surround vision is shown in the figure below. As the name suggests, surround view system provides the view of immediate surroundings to the drivers. Such views are of great assistance to the drivers in precise operations viz., parking maneuvers, driving in heavy traffic conditions etc.

Any bird eye vision system typically involves 4-6 wide angle fish-eye lens cameras mounted all around the vehicle. The installed/mounted cameras have Field of View up to 180 degrees. Such lenses are preferred so that immediate surrounding is completely visible even after the data loss during the implementation of algorithm on captured frames. 

Two types of camera arrangements are generally seen: 

• 4 cameras: front, back and one on each side view mirrors.
• 6 cameras: 1 on all four corners, front and back.

Out of these two, the former is most common because of reasons like lesser complications, initial cost-effectiveness etc.

Advantages to Drivers:

1. Assistance in parking maneuvers because surrounding vehicles and parking slots are easily visible and driver can solely focus on driving rather than peeping into the mirrors for parking safely.
2. Eliminates the use of mirrors by providing the complete view of surrounding on a single screen.
3. Any object or vehicle approaching or running close to the vehicle is visible at once.
4. Being "top-view", the system is free of perspective distortion. In layman's language, drivers are free of constraints like "Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear".
5. Works properly even on slopes because of reasonably large field of view.
6. Driver error is reduced or even eliminated, and efficiency in traffic and transport is enhanced.
7. High-performance driving can be conducted regardless of the vision, weather and environmental conditions.
8. Many more vehicles can be accommodated, on regular highways but especially on dedicated lanes