Partially Parallel Architecture for AdaBoost-Based Detection With Haar-Like Features

This paper proposes a hardware architecture for object detection based on an AdaBoost learning algorithm with Haar-like features as weak classifiers. We analyze and discuss the parallelism in this detection algorithm and propose a partially parallel execution model suitable for hardware implementation. This parallel execution model exploits the cascade structure of classifiers, in which classifiers located near the beginning of the cascade are used more frequently than subsequent classifiers. We assign more resources to these earlier classifiers to execute in parallel than to subsequent classifiers. This dramatically improves the total processing speed without a great increase in circuit area. Moreover, the partially parallel execution model achieves flexible processing performance by adjusting the balance of parallel processing. In addition, we implement the proposed architecture on a Virtex-5 FPGA to show that it achieves real-time object detection at 30 fps on VGA video without candidate extraction.