MGAP-2: an advanced, massively parallel VLSI signal processor

The Micro-Grain Array Processor (MGAP) is a family of two-dimensional, micro-grained array processors. The processor cell architecture is extremely compact and simple, ensuring fine grainess, a very high processor density, and programming flexibility. Flexibility is maintained through a programmable interconnect which clusters array cells into larger computational units. In this paper, we will discuss the design and optimization issues of MGAP-2, both at the processor array and system levels. Various design strategies and tradeoffs are being investigated at both levels. The reader will see how lessons learned from building and using MGAP-1 have been applied in this new design effort. We also describe our MGAP programming environment and an application example - the two-dimensional discrete cosine transform, a powerful image compression tool.