0000000000247621

AUTHOR

Silvia Franchini

showing 18 related works from this author

GAPPCO: An Easy to Configure Geometric Algebra Coprocessor Based on GAPP Programs

2017

Because of the high numeric complexity of Geometric Algebra, its use in engineering applications relies heavily on tools and devices for efficient implementations. In this article, we present a novel hardware design for a Geometric Algebra coprocessor, called GAPPCO, which is based on Geometric Algebra Parallelism Programs (GAPP). GAPPCO is a design for a coprocessor combining the advantages of optimizing software with a configurable hardware able to implement arbitrary Geometric Algebra algorithms. The idea is to have a fixed hardware easily and fast to be configured for different algorithms. We describe the new hardware design together with the complete tool chain for its configuration.

Settore ING-INF/05 - Sistemi Di Elaborazione Delle InformazioniCoprocessorTheoretical computer sciencebusiness.industryApplied MathematicsConfigurable hardware02 engineering and technologyParallel computing01 natural sciences020202 computer hardware & architectureComputer Science::Hardware ArchitectureGeometric algebraSoftwareChain (algebraic topology)0103 physical sciencesGeometric Algebra Geometric Algebra computing Gaalop GAPP GAPPCO0202 electrical engineering electronic engineering information engineeringParallelism (grammar)GapP010307 mathematical physicsbusinessImplementationMathematicsAdvances in Applied Clifford Algebras
researchProduct

Design Space Exploration of Parallel Embedded Architectures for Native Clifford Algebra Operations

2012

In the past few decades, Geometric or Clifford algebra (CA) has received a growing attention in many research fields, such as robotics, machine vision and computer graphics, as a natural and intuitive way to model geometric objects and their transformations. At the same time, the high dimensionality of Clifford algebra and its computational complexity demand specialized hardware architectures for the direct support of Clifford data types and operators. This paper presents the design space exploration of parallel embedded architectures for native execution of four-dimensional (4D) and five-dimensional (5D) Clifford algebra operations. The design space exploration has been described along wit…

Settore ING-INF/05 - Sistemi Di Elaborazione Delle InformazioniSpeedupTheoretical computer scienceComputer sciencebusiness.industryDesign space explorationMachine visionClifford algebraClifford algebra Computational geometry Embedded coprocessors Application-specific processors Design space exploration FPGA-based prototypingRoboticsComputer graphicsSoftwareHardware and ArchitectureComputingMethodologies_SYMBOLICANDALGEBRAICMANIPULATIONArtificial intelligenceElectrical and Electronic EngineeringVariety (universal algebra)businessSoftwareIEEE Design & Test of Computers
researchProduct

Accelerating Clifford Algebra Operations using GPUs and an OpenCL Code Generator

2015

Clifford Algebra (CA) is a powerful mathematical language that allows for a simple and intuitive representation of geometric objects and their transformations. It has important applications in many research fields, such as computer graphics, robotics, and machine vision. Direct hardware support of Clifford data types and operators is needed to accelerate applications based on Clifford Algebra. This paper proposes a mixed software-hardware system that exploits the computational power of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) to accelerate Clifford operations. A code generator, namely OpenCLifford, is presented that automatically generates Java and C libraries for the direct support of Clifford ele…

Settore ING-INF/05 - Sistemi Di Elaborazione Delle InformazioniSpeedupHardware-software co-designOpenCLComputer scienceClifford algebraGeometric AlgebraParallel computingData typeMetaprogrammingComputer graphicsClifford AlgebraGeometric algebraComputingMethodologies_SYMBOLICANDALGEBRAICMANIPULATIONCode generationCentral processing unitGraphicsGraphics Processing Unit
researchProduct

A Novel System for Multi-level Crohn’s Disease Classification and Grading Based on a Multiclass Support Vector Machine

2020

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract that can highly alter patient’s quality of life. Diagnostic imaging, such as Enterography Magnetic Resonance Imaging (E-MRI), provides crucial information for CD activity assessment. Automatic learning methods play a fundamental role in the classification of CD and allow to avoid the long and expensive manual classification process by radiologists. This paper presents a novel classification method that uses a multiclass Support Vector Machine (SVM) based on a Radial Basis Function (RBF) kernel for the grading of CD inflammatory activity. To validate the system, we have used a dataset composed of 800 E-MRI…

Hyperparameterbusiness.industryComputer scienceMulticlass support vector machineBayesian optimizationSupervised learningFeature extractionFeature reductionCrohn’s disease multi-level classification and gradingK-fold cross-validationPattern recognitionSupport vector machineRadial basis function kernelMedical imagingFeature extractionArtificial intelligencebusinessClassifier (UML)Supervised learningBayesian optimization
researchProduct

A Dual-Core Coprocessor with Native 4D Clifford Algebra Support

2012

Geometric or Clifford Algebra (CA) is a powerful mathematical tool that is attracting a growing attention in many research fields such as computer graphics, computer vision, robotics and medical imaging for its natural and intuitive way to represent geometric objects and their transformations. This paper introduces the architecture of CliffordCoreDuo, an embedded dual-core coprocessor that offers direct hardware support to four-dimensional (4D) Clifford algebra operations. A prototype implementation on an FPGA board is detailed. Experimental results show a 1.6× average speedup of CliffordCoreDuo in comparison with the baseline mono-core architecture. A potential cycle speedup of about 40× o…

Settore ING-INF/05 - Sistemi Di Elaborazione Delle InformazioniSpeedupCoprocessorComputer sciencebusiness.industryClifford algebraParallel computingComputer graphicsGeometric algebraSoftwareClifford algebra embedded coprocessors multi-core architectures FPGA prototyping medical imagingField-programmable gate arraybusinessFPGA prototype2012 15th Euromicro Conference on Digital System Design
researchProduct

An FPGA Implementation of a Quadruple-Based Multiplier for 4D Clifford Algebra

2008

Geometric or Clifford algebra is an interesting paradigm for geometric modeling in fields as computer graphics, machine vision and robotics. In these areas the research effort is actually aimed at finding an efficient implementation of geometric algebra. The best way to exploit the symbolic computing power of geometric algebra is to support its data types and operators directly in hardware. However the natural representation of the algebra elements as variable-length objects causes some problems in the case of a hardware implementation. This paper proposes a 4D Clifford algebra in which the variable-length elements are mapped into fixed-length elements (quadruples). This choice leads to a s…

Settore ING-INF/05 - Sistemi Di Elaborazione Delle InformazioniTheoretical computer scienceComputer scienceClifford algebraClifford Algebra computational geometry application-specific coprocessor FPGA prototypingSolid modelingOperandData typeComputer graphicsGeometric algebraComputingMethodologies_SYMBOLICANDALGEBRAICMANIPULATIONLinear algebraArithmeticGeometric modeling
researchProduct

An Embedded, FPGA-based Computer Graphics Coprocessor with Native Geometric Algebra Support

2009

The representation of geometric objects and their transformation are the two key aspects in computer graphics applications. Traditionally, computer-intensive matrix calculations are involved in modeling and rendering three-dimensional (3D) scenery. Geometric algebra (aka Clifford algebra) is attracting attention as a natural way to model geometric facts and as a powerful analytical tool for symbolic calculations. In this paper, the architecture of Clifford coprocessor (CliffoSor) is introduced. CliffoSor is an embedded parallel coprocessing core that offers direct hardware support to Clifford algebra operators. A prototype implementation on a programmable gate array (FPGA) board is detailed…

Settore ING-INF/05 - Sistemi Di Elaborazione Delle InformazioniSpeedupCoprocessorComputer scienceClifford algebraParallel computingRendering (computer graphics)Computer graphicsGeometric algebraHardware and ArchitectureComputingMethodologies_SYMBOLICANDALGEBRAICMANIPULATIONElectrical and Electronic EngineeringClifford algebra Computational geometry Embedded coprocessors Application-specific processor FPGA-based prototypingField-programmable gate arraySoftwareEuclidean vector
researchProduct

Geometric Calculus Applications to Medical Imaging: Status and Perspectives

2021

Medical imaging data coming from different acquisition modalities requires automatic tools to extract useful information and support clinicians in the formulation of accurate diagnoses. Geometric Calculus (GC) offers a powerful mathematical and computational model for the development of effective medical imaging algorithms. The practical use of GC-based methods in medical imaging requires fast and efficient implementations to meet real-time processing constraints as well as accuracy and robustness requirements. The purpose of this article is to present the state of the art of the GC-based techniques for medical image analysis and processing. The use of GC-based paradigms in Radiomics and De…

ModalitiesComputer sciencebusiness.industryDeep learningMachine learningcomputer.software_genreMedical ImagingDeep LearningRobustness (computer science)Geometric CalculuMedical imagingState (computer science)Artificial intelligenceRadiomicMedical diagnosisbusinesscomputerImplementationGeometric calculus
researchProduct

Embedded Coprocessors for Native Execution of Geometric Algebra Operations

2016

Clifford algebra or geometric algebra (GA) is a simple and intuitive way to model geometric objects and their transformations. Operating in high-dimensional vector spaces with significant computational costs, the practical use of GA requires dedicated software and/or hardware architectures to directly support Clifford data types and operators. In this paper, a family of embedded coprocessors for the native execution of GA operations is presented. The paper shows the evolution of the coprocessor family focusing on the latest two architectures that offer direct hardware support to up to five-dimensional Clifford operations. The proposed coprocessors exploit hardware-oriented representations o…

Settore ING-INF/05 - Sistemi Di Elaborazione Delle InformazioniTheoretical computer scienceCoprocessorInverse kinematicsbusiness.industryApplied MathematicsClifford algebraGeometric algebra Embedded coprocessors Application-specific processors FPGA-based prototyping.02 engineering and technologyParallel computingData type020202 computer hardware & architectureGeometric algebraSoftware0202 electrical engineering electronic engineering information engineering020201 artificial intelligence & image processingField-programmable gate arraybusinessVector spaceMathematicsAdvances in Applied Clifford Algebras
researchProduct

A Specialized Architecture for Color Image Edge Detection Based on Clifford Algebra

2013

Edge detection of color images is usually performed by applying the traditional techniques for gray-scale images to the three color channels separately. However, human visual perception does not differentiate colors and processes the image as a whole. Recently, new methods have been proposed that treat RGB color triples as vectors and color images as vector fields. In these approaches, edge detection is obtained extending the classical pattern matching and convolution techniques to vector fields. This paper proposes a hardware implementation of an edge detection method for color images that exploits the definition of geometric product of vectors given in the Clifford algebra framework to ex…

Hardware architectureMultispectral MR images.Settore ING-INF/05 - Sistemi Di Elaborazione Delle InformazioniColor histogramComputer scienceColor imagebusiness.industryColor image edge detectionComputingMethodologies_IMAGEPROCESSINGANDCOMPUTERVISIONFPGA prototypingApplication-specific processorColor quantizationEdge detectionConvolutionComputer Science::Hardware ArchitectureComputer Science::Computer Vision and Pattern RecognitionRGB color modelComputer visionArtificial intelligenceClifford algebrabusinessImage gradient
researchProduct

Evaluation of a Support Vector Machine Based Method for Crohn’s Disease Classification

2019

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic, disabling inflammatory bowel disease that affects millions of people worldwide. CD diagnosis is a challenging issue that involves a combination of radiological, endoscopic, histological, and laboratory investigations. Medical imaging plays an important role in the clinical evaluation of CD. Enterography magnetic resonance imaging (E-MRI) has been proven to be a useful diagnostic tool for disease activity assessment. However, the manual classification process by expert radiologists is time-consuming and expensive. This paper proposes the evaluation of an automatic Support Vector Machine (SVM) based supervised learning method for CD classification. A real E-…

Crohn's diseasemedicine.diagnostic_testComputer sciencebusiness.industryFeature vectorFeature extractionSupervised learningMagnetic resonance imagingPattern recognitionmedicine.diseaseCrohn’s disease classification Feature extraction Feature reduction K-fold cross-validation Supervised learning Support vector machinesSupport vector machinemedicineMedical imagingArtificial intelligencebusinessReliability (statistics)
researchProduct

Clifford Algebra based Edge Detector for Color Images

2012

Edge detection is one of the most used methods for feature extraction in computer vision applications. Feature extraction is traditionally founded on pattern recognition methods exploiting the basic concepts of convolution and Fourier transform. For color image edge detection the traditional methods used for gray-scale images are usually extended and applied to the three color channels separately. This leads to increased computational requirements and long execution times. In this paper we propose a new, enhanced version of an edge detection algorithm that treats color value triples as vectors and exploits the geometric product of vectors defined in the Clifford algebra framework to extend …

Settore ING-INF/05 - Sistemi Di Elaborazione Delle InformazioniColor imagebusiness.industryComputer scienceColor image edge detectionClifford convolutionFeature extractionClifford algebraEdge detectionConvolutionsymbols.namesakeClifford Fourier transformFourier transformsymbolsCanny edge detectorComputer visionArtificial intelligenceClifford algebrabusinessAlgorithmImage gradient
researchProduct

ConformalALU: A Conformal Geometric Algebra Coprocessor for Medical Image Processing

2015

Medical imaging involves important computational geometric problems, such as image segmentation and analysis, shape approximation, three-dimensional (3D) modeling, and registration of volumetric data. In the last few years, Conformal Geometric Algebra (CGA), based on five-dimensional (5D) Clifford Algebra, is emerging as a new paradigm that offers simple and universal operators for the representation and solution of complex geometric problems. However, the widespread use of CGA has been so far hindered by its high dimensionality and computational complexity. This paper proposes a simplified formulation of the conformal geometric operations (reflections, rotations, translations, and uniform …

Settore ING-INF/05 - Sistemi Di Elaborazione Delle InformazioniCoprocessorComputer scienceClifford algebraConformal geometric algebraConformal mapImage processingParallel computingImage segmentationComputational geometryTheoretical Computer ScienceGeometric algebraOperator (computer programming)Computational Theory and MathematicsConformal geometric algebra five-dimensional clifford algebra computational geometry embedded coprocessors systems-on-programmable-chip FPGA-based prototyping medical imaging segmentation 3D modeling Volume registration Growing Neural Gas marching spheres iterative closest point (ICP) thin-plate spline robust point matching (TPS-RPM)Hardware and ArchitectureScalingSoftwareIEEE Transactions on Computers
researchProduct

An Optimized Architecture for CGA Operations and Its Application to a Simulated Robotic Arm

2022

Conformal geometric algebra (CGA) is a new geometric computation tool that is attracting growing attention in many research fields, such as computer graphics, robotics, and computer vision. Regarding the robotic applications, new approaches based on CGA have been proposed to efficiently solve problems as the inverse kinematics and grasping of a robotic arm. The hardware acceleration of CGA operations is required to meet real-time performance requirements in embedded robotic platforms. In this paper, we present a novel embedded coprocessor for accelerating CGA operations in robotic tasks. Two robotic algorithms, namely, inverse kinematics and grasping of a human-arm-like kinematics chain, ar…

conformal geometric algebraSettore ING-INF/05 - Sistemi Di Elaborazione Delle Informazioniapplication-specific processorsComputer Networks and CommunicationsHardware and ArchitectureControl and Systems EngineeringSignal Processingcomputational geometryFPGA-based prototypingElectrical and Electronic Engineeringapplication-specific processors; Clifford Algebra; computational geometry; conformal geometric algebra; FPGA-based prototyping; grasping; human-like robotic arms; inverse kinematics
researchProduct

A New Embedded Coprocessor for Clifford Algebra based Software Intensive Systems

2011

Computer graphics applications require efficient tools to model geometric objects and their transformations. Clifford algebra (also known as geometric algebra) is receiving a growing attention in many research fields, such as computer graphics, machine vision and robotics, as a new, interesting computational paradigm that offers a natural and intuitive way to perform geometric calculations. At the same time, compute-intensive graphics algorithms require the execution of million Clifford operations. Clifford algebra based software intensive systems need therefore the support of specialized hardware architectures capable of accelerating Clifford operations execution. In this paper the archite…

Settore ING-INF/05 - Sistemi Di Elaborazione Delle InformazioniCoprocessorSpeedupComputer sciencebusiness.industryembedded coprocessorsClifford algebraParallel computingcomputer graphicComputer graphicsGeometric algebracompute-intensive algorithmSoftwaresoftware intensive systemComputingMethodologies_SYMBOLICANDALGEBRAICMANIPULATIONcomputational geometryGraphicsClifford algebraField-programmable gate arraybusiness
researchProduct

GAPP Compiler for Hardware Accelerated Geometric Algebra Computing

2016

Because of the high numeric complexity of Geometric Algebra, its use in engineering applications relies heavily on tools for ecient implementations. In this article, we introduce a new quality of Geometric Algebra Computing solutions based on a new compiler for Geometric Algebra Parallelism Programs (GAPP). These programs are already optimized in a sense that only the really needed computations are left. The GAPP compiler is able to generate two output formats leading to advanced hardware accelerated Geometric Algebra Computing. On one hand, there is the direct generation of HSAIL code, in order to more eciently support the solutions of the broad range of heterogeneous computing architectur…

Geometric Algebra Computing HSAIL Gaalop GAPP GAPPCO.
researchProduct

Fixed-size Quadruples for a New, Hardware-Oriented Representation of the 4D Clifford Algebra

2010

Clifford algebra (geometric algebra) offers a natural and intuitive way to model geometry in fields as robotics, machine vision and computer graphics. This paper proposes a new representation based on fixed-size elements (quadruples) of 4D Clifford algebra and demonstrates that this choice leads to an algorithmic simplification which in turn leads to a simpler and more compact hardware implementation of the algebraic operations. In order to prove the advantages of the new, quadruple-based representation over the classical representation based on homogeneous elements, a coprocessing core supporting the new fixed-size Clifford operands, namely Quad-CliffoSor (Quadruple-based Clifford coproces…

Settore ING-INF/05 - Sistemi Di Elaborazione Delle InformazioniSpeedupCoprocessorbusiness.industryApplied MathematicsClifford algebraUniversal geometric algebraOperandAlgebraGeometric algebraClifford algebra computational geometry embedded coprocessors application-specific processor FPGA-based prototypingAlgebraic operationComputingMethodologies_SYMBOLICANDALGEBRAICMANIPULATIONbusinessRepresentation (mathematics)Computer hardwareMathematics
researchProduct

Design and implementation of an embedded coprocessor with native support for 5D, quadruple-based Clifford algebra

2013

Geometric or Clifford algebra (CA) is a powerful mathematical tool that offers a natural and intuitive way to model geometric facts in a number of research fields, such as robotics, machine vision, and computer graphics. Operating in higher dimensional spaces, its practical use is hindered, however, by a significant computational cost, only partially addressed by dedicated software libraries and hardware/software codesigns. For low-dimensional algebras, several dedicated hardware accelerators and coprocessing architectures have been already proposed in the literature. This paper introduces the architecture of CliffordALU5, an embedded coprocessing core conceived for native execution of up t…

Settore ING-INF/05 - Sistemi Di Elaborazione Delle InformazioniCoprocessorSpeedupComputational Theory and MathematicsClifford algebra Computational geometry Embedded coprocessors Application-specific processors FPGA-based prototypingHardware and ArchitectureComputer scienceClifford algebraParallel computingComputational geometryField-programmable gate arraySoftwareTheoretical Computer Science
researchProduct