A framework for modular signal processing systems with high-performance requirements

This paper introduces the software framework MMER_Lab which allows an effective assembly of modular signal processing systems optimized for memory efficiency and performance. Our C/C++ framework is designed to constitute the basis of a well organized and simplified development process in industrial and academic research teams. It supports the structuring of modular systems by provision of basic data-, parameter-, and command-interfaces, ensuring the re-usability of the system components. Due to the underlying multi-threading capabilities, the applications built in MMER_Lab are enabled to fully exploit the increasing computational power of multi-core CPU architectures. This feature is carried out by a buffering concept which controls the data flow between the connected modules and allows for the parallel processing of consecutive signal segments (e.g. video frames). We introduce the concept of the multi-threading environment and the data flow architecture with its comfortable programming interface. We illustrate the proposed module concept for the generic assembly of processing chains and show applications from the area of video analysis and pattern recognition.