Video compression is the process of reducing the amount of data required to represent digital video while preserving an acceptable video quality. Recent studies on video compression have focused on multimedia transmission, videophones, teleconferencing, high definition television (HDTV), CD-ROM storage, etc. The idea of compression techniques is to remove the redundant information that exists in the video sequences. Motion compensated predictive coding is the main coding tool for removing temporal redundancy of video sequences and it typically accounts for 50-80% of the video encoding complexity. This technique has been adopted by all of the existing international video coding standards. It assumes that the current frame can be locally modelled as a translation of the reference frames. The practical and widely method used to carry out motion compensated prediction is block matching algorithm. In this method, video frames are divided into a set of non-overlapped macroblocks; each target macroblock of the current frame is compared with the search area in the reference frame in order to find the best matching macroblock. This will carry out displacement vectors that stipulate the movement of the macroblocks from one location to another in the reference frame. Checking all these locations is called full Search, which provides the best result. However, this algorithm suffers from long computational time, which necessitates improvement. Several methods of Fast Block Matching algorithm were developed to reduce the computation complexity. This thesis focuses on two classifications: the first is called the lossless block matching algorithm process, in which the computational time required to determine the matching macroblock of the full search is decreased while the resolution of the predicted frames is the same as for the full search. The second is called the lossy block matching algorithm process, which reduces the computational complexity effectively but the search result’s quality is not the same as for the full search.

Fast Block Matching (FBM) algorithms for video compression are well suited for acceleration using parallel data-path architectures on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). However, designing an efficient on-chip memory subsystem to provide the required throughput to this parallel data-path architecture is a complex problem. This thesis presents a memory architecture template that can be parameterized for a given FBM algorithm, number of parallel Processing Elements (PEs), and block size. The template can be parameterized with well known exploration techniques to design efficient on-chip memory subsystems. The memory subsystems are derived for two existing FBM algorithms and are implemented on a Xilinx Virtex 4 family of FPGAs. Results show that the derived memory subsystem in the best case supports up to 27 more parallel PEs than the three existing subsystems and processes integer pixels in a 1080p video sequence up to a rate of 73 frames per second. The speculative execution of an FBM algorithm for the same number of PEs increases the number of frames processed per second by 49%.

Communications-based train control (CBTC) aims to improve headways in the railway systems while maintaining or even improving safety. By means of the CBTC systems, the exact position of a train is known more accurately than the traditional signalling systems. It is a continuous, automatic train control system utilizing high-resolution train location determination, independent from track circuits. The system makes use of the telecommunications between the train and track equipment for the traffic management and infrastructure control. Roslagsbanan is a narrow gauge urban railway system that connects Stockholm with the northern suburbs of the city and despite its age and limited capacity, it is one of the most used railways in Sweden. From the beginning, the entire track consisted of single-tracks where the trains had to wait for each other on special meeting tracks. Αn expansion plan is now underway and the authorities are building approximately 22 km of double-track where the trains will be able to meet. All work along the Roslagsbanan aims to increase capacity, safety and accessibility. With more double-tracks and an updated signal system, the risk of traffic disruptions will be reduced and it is possible to have more frequent traffic in the future. This master’s thesis investigates a CBTC implementation in Roslagsbanan according to the current expansion plan and comparisons are conducted between the current capacity of the ATC system. A simulation model is developed that calculates the train’s safe braking curve and safe braking distance and two case studies are examined. The first one: Calculation of the capacity of the train routes and examination a capacity increase by a minimum 20% during rush hour, taking into consideration the current expansion plan in double-tracks. The second one: Calculation of the capacity of the train routes considering double-tracks the entire route. In this way, differences could be seen between the traffic density with single and double-tracks. Several insights were gained during the realization of this project and as well as timetables have been created to visualize the findings of this thesis. The timetable’s regularity time is decreased to a significant degree and more frequent traffic can be accommodated. Furthermore, the capacity is definitely affected by the track/infrastructure design however, it is questionable whether this increase in capacity outweighs the economic factor of expanding the entire route to double-tracks. / Kommunikationsbaserad tågkontroll (CBTC) syftar till att förbättra framsteg i järnvägssystemen samtidigt som säkerheten bibehålls eller till och med förbättras. Med hjälp av CBTC-systemen är ett tågs exakta position känd mer exakt än de traditionella signalsystemen. Det är ett kontinuerligt, automatiskt tågkontrollsystem som använder högupplöst tåglägesbestämning, oberoende av spårledning. Systemet använder telekommunikation mellan tåg och spårutrustning för trafikledning och infrastrukturkontroll. Roslagsbanan är ett smalspårigt stadsjärnvägssystem som förbinder Stockholm med stadens norra förorter och trots sin ålder och begränsade kapacitet är det en av de mest använda järnvägarna i Sverige. Från början bestod hela spåret av enkelspår där tågen fick vänta på varandra på speciella mötesstationer. Ett utvecklingsprogram pågår nu och myndigheterna bygger cirka 22 km dubbelspår där tågen kommer att kunna mötas. Allt arbete längs Roslagsbanan syftar till att öka kapacitet, säkerhet och tillgänglighet. Med fler dubbelspår och ett uppdaterat signalsystem minskar risken för trafikstörningar och det är möjligt att ha mer frekvent trafik i framtiden. Detta examensarbete undersöker ett CBTC-genomförande i Roslagsbanan enligt den nuvarande expansionsplanen och jämförelser görs med ATC-systemets nuvarande kapacitet. En simuleringsmodell har utvecklats som beräknar tågets säkra bromskurva och säkra bromssträcka och två fallstudier undersöks. Den första: Beräkning av tåglinjernas kapacitet och undersökning av en kapacitetsökning med minst 20% under rusningstid med hänsyn till den nuvarande expansionsplanen i dubbelspår. Den andra: Beräkning av tåglinjernas kapacitet med tanke på dubbelspår hela rutten. På detta sätt kunde skillnader ses mellan trafiktätheten med enkel- och dubbelspår. Flera insikter gjordes under genomförandet av detta projekt och tidtabeller har skapats för att visualisera resultaten av denna avhandling. Tiden mellan tågen minskas i betydande grad och mer frekvent trafik kan tillgodoses. Dessutom påverkas kapaciteten definitivt av ban-/infrastrukturutformningen, men det är tveksamt om denna kapacitetsökning uppväger den ekonomiska faktorn att utöka hela rutten till dubbelspår.