Simulation

VisualApplets provides powerful, functional simulation features for simulating designs. You can use simulation for a first test of the implemented image processing algorithm, and for its verification. You can start a simulation directly after editing the design without the need to build a *.hap file.

The simulation in VisualApplets is functional, i.e., it emulates the behavior of the hardware implementation. This makes it very fast compared to low level simulations. A side effect of the functional simulation is that timing is not considered. The simulation behavior of operators is 100% equal to the image processing of the final applet on real hardware.

To simulate the behavior of a design in VisualApplets, two kinds of simulation elements are provided:

  • simulation sources, and

  • simulation probes.

Simulation sources are used for data input. You can load one image or a whole image sequence into a simulation source (from image files). You can place one simulation source or one simulation probe at any link in your design. Thus, data transport along those links is overwritten by the connected source module or inspected by the respective probe module.

[Note] Note

Some operators can function as an image source, too; e.g., operator CreateBlankImage.

You can save the resulting images of the simulation probes to image files.

Due to visualization optimizations, the VisualApplets simulation is based on 2D images.

Nevertheless, you can also simulate if the link the simulation source is connected to is 0D (stream of pixels), 1D (stream of lines), or 2D (stream of frames), as long as the simulation source contains at least one 2D image (see 'Image Protocols, Image Dimensions and Data Structure').

Limitations

Simulation has the following limitations:

  • The simulation of the SIGNAL image protocols is not possible. This is so, because the simulation of the SIGNAL image protocols emulates the functionality, but not the timing of a design. However for simulation of the SIGNAL image protocols, it would be necessary to simulate the timing, too.

  • The simulation of the 0D image protocol is limited to exactly one simulation step. This is so, because for simulation all pixel data of one source is aggregated to a single 2D frame. However, subsequent steps can be simulated for the remaining design, but operators generating 0D content will only emit data once during the first step.

  • The operator PseudoRandomNumberGen does not return the same result in a simulation as on the hardware. This is so, because the operator is non-deterministic. This exceptions is also described at Operator Reference.

  • The operator Blob Analysis 1D does not return the same result in a simulation as on the hardware. This is so, because the operator has the port FlushI, but as the flush is asynchronous to the image data, it cannot be simulated to reflect the same behavior as in hardware. This exception is also described at Operator Reference.

  • BMPs and TIFFs with indexed color palette are not supported.

Supported Image Formats

The following image formats are supported for simulation in VisualApplets for source images as well as for saving the output images:

Bitmap

BMP 1 bit black/white (row length has to be a multiple of 8)

BMP 8 bit gray

BMP 24 bit (R8 G8 B8) sRGB color space

Compression like RLE is not supported.

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)/TIF

TIFF 1 bit black/white (row length has to be a multiple of 8)

TIFF 8 bit gray

TIFF 24 bit color sRGB color space

TIFF 48 bit color sRRB color space

Compression: None, LZW, or PackBits

JPEG/JPG
PNG
GIF
PSD

Additionally, the following formats are supported as source images:

  • SVG

  • XCF

  • RAW

  • RSD (SiSoRawSimulationData)

[Note] Limitations

BMPs and TIFFs with indexed color palette are not supported.

Simulation Workflow

Simulating image data processing in your design comprises the following steps:

  1. Inserting the simulation sources and probes you need into your design.

  2. Loading the image file(s) you want to use for simulation to your simulation source(s).

  3. Optimizing your image input via parameters, such as pixel merge and pixel alignment.

  4. Setting the number of processing cycles for the simulation in the main simulation window and starting the simulation.

  5. Evaluating the simulation results.

  6. Saving the simulation results.

In the following sections, these steps are be described in detail.

Inserting Sources and Probes into your Design

To prepare a simulation, you must first insert your simulation source(s) and probe(s) into your design:

  1. From the main menu, select AnalysisNew Simulation Source / New Simulation Probe or use the corresponding icons in the toolbar to insert your source(s) and probe(s) into the current design window.

Creating New Simulation Sources and Probes

Figure 66. Creating New Simulation Sources and Probes


Simulation sources and simulation probes are both displayed as small image frames with a magnetic anchor:

Simulation Sources Are Gray Image Frames, Simulation Probes Are Green Image Frames

Figure 67. Simulation Sources Are Gray Image Frames, Simulation Probes Are Green Image Frames


  1. Use the anchor to connect the source or probe to a link in the design. You can easily distinguish simulation sources from simulation probes as sources are of gray, probes of green color.

  2. Use drag and drop to position your source(s) and probe(s).

  3. Use drag and drop to connect your source(s) and probe(s) to links in your design. If the anchor icon changes to blue, the connection is valid.

[Caution] Connecting Simulation Sources and Probes to a Link Transporting Kernels or Signals

You can connect a simulation source to a link that transports kernels, but the simulation source needs to provide exactly one input image per kernel. You can connect a simulation probe to a link that transports signals, but this simulation probe then doesn't provide any data.

Loading the Image File(s) to your Simulation Source(s)

The Simulation Source Viewer

In the Simulation Source Viewer, you can load test images or test image sequences and make them available for simulation.

At first, let’s have a quick look at the Simulation Source Viewer.

  1. To open the Simulation Source Viewer, double-click a source in your design.

The Simulation Source Viewer opens up:

Simulation Source Viewer

Figure 68. Simulation Source Viewer


Directly under the menu, you find the toolbars. The icons of the toolbars offer the following options (left to right):

  • File toolbar for opening and saving image files.

  • View toolbar offering different options for image display. These are the same as the first options of the View menu:

    Viewing Options

    Figure 69. Viewing Options


  • The arrows for navigating through image sequences.

  • Display of details on the image currently visible in the display panel of the main viewer window (and magnifier): Displays the position of the image in the image sequence loaded to the simulator, and the path to the image file

On the left hand side, you have the settings panel with two tabs:

Image File – Mapping

Here, you can adjust the settings for simulation, e.g. enter a value for pixel merge, or define the offset for pixel alignment.

Display Properties

Here, you can define the settings for displaying the test images on your own screen. Due to the fact, that monitors always use 8 bit color display, at times you have to decide which part of a pixel you want to see on screen for evaluating your test images. None of the settings you define under Display Properties have influence on the simulation or its results.

In addition, you find here the color values of a selected pixel listed, together with the display value. The display value is the mapped value for display on the user monitor.

Pixel Values

Figure 70. Pixel Values


On the right hand side, you have the display panel displaying the image currently selected.

You can zoom in and out on the image displayed in the display channel by either using the corresponding icons in the toolbar, or by using CTRL+MouseWheelUp to zoom in and CTRL+MouseWheelDown to zoom out.

If you choose a very high zooming factor, a pixel grid is displayed for better orientation and hex/dec values per pixel are displayed.

On the bottom of the simulation viewer, you have another panel: This is the Sequence viewer. If you use more than one image in a source, here you can see all images of the image sequence, make changes to the image order of the sequence, or select an image for display in the display panel and magnifier.

The Magnifier is actually a second window of the Source Viewer which you can easily loosen from the main Source Viewer window via drag & drop. The Magnifier always shows the same image as is displayed in the display panel of the main Source Viewer. Its pointer is always in the center of the Magnifier window and positioned exactly on the pixel you point at in the display panel. The great advantage of the Magnifier window is that you can display a selection of the image with a completely different zooming factor:

Zooming in the Magnifier

Figure 71. Zooming in the Magnifier


If you want to change the zooming factor of the Magnifier:

  1. Activate the ToolsMagnifier window.

  2. Use CTRL+MouseWheelUp to zoom in and CTRL+MouseWheelDown to zoom out.

If you choose a very high zooming factor, a pixel grid is displayed for better orientation.

Loading Images into the Source

To load test images or test image sequences into your source,

  1. Open the Simulation Source Viewer by double-clicking the source in your design.

  2. From the main menu of the Simulation Source Viewer, select FileOpen or click the corresponding icon in the toolbar. In the following dialog, select the simulation input image file and click Open.

[Note] Note

You find some useful test images in the VisualApplets installation folder under \Testimages.

[Tip] Tip

Alternatively, you can simply drag & drop image files either from your Windows Explorer into the viewer, or from your Windows Explorer onto the source in your diagram.

The input image is now displayed in the Simulation Source Viewer.

After closing the Simulation Source Viewer, you see a thumbnail of the image in the preview frame of the corresponding source:

Thumbnail Display in Source

Figure 72. Thumbnail Display in Source


As soon as you connect a source to a link, the source takes over the parameter settings of the link (such as maximal image dimension, bit width, and color format). If you load an image that is bigger than the maximal image dimension of the link, a green rectangle is displayed on the image, enclosing the part of the image that will be used for simulation:

Highlighted Image Section Used for Simulation

Figure 73. Highlighted Image Section Used for Simulation


[Caution] Convert your Images

It is not possible to load a color picture on a one-channel gray link and vice versa. If your test image does not fit the properties of the link the source is connected to, you need to convert the image. Use any image processing program that offers the necessary functions to convert your test image. Use an image format supported by VisualApplets. For information on supported image formats, see 'Supported Image Formats'.

Loading an Image Sequence into your Simulation Source

As soon as you load a new image to the source, the image shows up in the display panel of the Simulation Source Viewer and is added to the image sequence of your source. You can see all images of your image sequence in the Sequence Viewer, which is located at the bottom of the Simulation Source Viewer.

Only the selected image displayed in the display channel is stored in the RAM of the computer. The other images of the sequence are loaded into the RAM when necessary. Thus, loading long image sequences onto a source has nearly no impact on RAM usage.

If you load an image sequence, you can change the order of images after load. In the Sequence Viewer, use drag & drop to position an image to where you want it to be in the sequence.

You can easily delete one or more images of a sequence:

  1. Press CTRL and select the images you want to delete.

  2. Press DEL or select from the menu EditRemove Selected.

In the Sequence Viewer, sim[x] indicates the image that is being simulated during the next simulation step. You can reset sim[x] to the first image of the sequence in the Simulation dialog by clicking the Reset button. If you want to know more about simulation steps and reset, see 'Setting the Number of Processing Cycles and Starting the Simulation'. The simulation order is not influenced by the image currently displayed in the display panel.

sim[x] Indicates the Image that Is Simulated in a Sequence

Figure 74. sim[x] Indicates the Image that Is Simulated in a Sequence


If you change the image properties by mapping (see 'Image File Mapping '), the thumbnails are not refreshed automatically. By default, the Sequence Viewer displays the thumbnails of the original images.

You have two possibilities to adapt the thumbnail display. From the menu, select either

  • ViewMapped Thumbs to get a preview on how your images will look after applying the current mapping settings in a simulation, or

  • ViewRefresh to have thumbnails displayed that reflect the current look of your images.

Optimizing your Image Input via Parameters

You can now optimize your image input via parameters. All parameters are displayed in the Simulation Source Viewer.

Pixel Values

On each pixel in the display panel, actually two crosshair cursors are displayed If you can’t see the two crosshair cursors, zoom in on the picture in the display panel:

Crosshair Cursors in Display Window and Magnifier

Figure 75. Crosshair Cursors in Display Window and Magnifier


The white/black crosshair cursor shows the position of your mouse cursor.

The colored one is positioned in the center of the pixel the mouse cursor points to. This crosshair cursor is also displayed in the Magnifier on exactly the same pixel.

In the settings panel tab Display Properties the corresponding pixel values are displayed:

Pixel Values

Figure 76. Pixel Values


You can choose whether you want to see the pixel values as decimal unsigned, decimal signed or hex figures.

Display shows the value(s) displayed on your screen. This value/these values might be different from the actual color values (or gray value) if a 16 bit or 48 bit image is loaded to your source, since on screen, only 8 bit can be displayed per color channel.

Image Dimension

In the Simulation Source Viewer tab Image File – Mapping, you find a table with the image dimensions of the current image (as it is loaded from file) on the left hand side and the image dimensions of the link on the right hand side:

Image Dimensions

Figure 77. Image Dimensions


The column Merged Pixels is described at 'Pixel Spitting and Merging'.

If an image file has a dimension smaller than the dimension of the link, the image is transferred onto the link on the scale 1:1.

If the image file has a dimension that exceeds the dimension of the link, only part of the picture is used for simulation. You can see in the display panel in the green rectangle which picture part is going to be used for simulation. Also, the corresponding values are highlighted in yellow:

Exceeded Image Dimensions

Figure 78. Exceeded Image Dimensions


[Tip] Tip

If you cannot see the green rectangle in your display screen, set your viewing options to ViewFit to Window.

Image File Mapping

In the Simulation Source Viewer tab Image File – Mapping, you also find information on the bit width of your test image (file) and on the bit width of the link the source is connected to:

Bit Widths of Image and Link

Figure 79. Bit Widths of Image and Link


The column Merged Pixels is described at 'Pixel Spitting and Merging'.

If you want to load an image that has a bit width higher than that of the link, you can choose which bits of your image you want to use for simulation. You can make your selection by using a slider:

Defining Offset for Image Bits to Use

Figure 80. Defining Offset for Image Bits to Use


The bit width of the selection slider is the same as the bit width of the link. With the slider you can define a new position for the offset. The offset is the starting point of your bit selection on the bit width of your image. Based on these settings, the Simulation Source Viewer immediately calculates the altered image and displays it in the display panel. In the screen shot above, the 4 upper bits have been chosen out of the 8 bit of the 8-bit image. Thus, the test image used for the simulation will only have 16 instead of 256 gray-scale values.

[Note] Visualization of Altered Test Image in the Simulation Source Viewer

Since the display on PC monitors is based on 8-bit information per pixel, an image with only 16 gray-scale values cannot be displayed properly. Thus, for visualization on screen the 16 gray-scale values of the test image are mapped to the 256 gray-scale values of the 8-bit monitor display. This mapping doesn’t change the number of shades of gray displayed (16), but enhances the contrast between them (0 = black, 15 = white).

Display Properties for 4-bit Image

Figure 81. Display Properties for 4-bit Image


If you, on the contrary, load an image that has a smaller bit width than the link it is loaded on (i.e. the source module is connected to), you can use the same slider in tab Image File – Mapping to define an offset for the bits of the image on the bit width of the link. The remaining bits of the link are set to NULL.

The picture below shows an example where an 8-bit gray-scale image has been loaded onto a link with a bit width of 12 bit:

Defining Offset for Link Bits to Use

Figure 82. Defining Offset for Link Bits to Use


Display Alignment

You can define some settings for visualizing the altered test image in the Simulation Source Viewer via display alignment:

If the bit width of a link is higher than 8 bit, you have to define which 8 bits out of the link bit width you want to have displayed in the display panel. Since the display on PC monitors is limited to 8 bit per color channel, a higher bit width cannot be displayed.

In the Simulation Source Viewer tab Display properties, you can define which 8 bits out of the bits of a link you want to have displayed in the display panel. Use the slider to choose the offset for the displayable 8 bits. This display alignment setting has no influence on the simulation.

In the example below, the link has a bit width of 12 bit. With the slider, you can decide which bits out of the 12 you want to have displayed.

Display Alignment

Figure 83. Display Alignment


Pixel Spitting and Merging

The BMP file format allows a maximum of 8 bit per color channel of a pixel. The TIFF format allows a maximum of 16 bit per color channel. A higher bit width cannot be simply saved in standard image file formats.

VisualApplets offers the possibility of pixel splitting to get around these limitations.

To store an image with a high pixel bit width in a standard image file format, each pixel is split into multiple image file pixels. Thus, it is possible to store up to 64 bit per color channel in BMP or TIFF file format, e.g., in 8 x 8-bit pixels. These images can be viewed in regular image file viewers or image processing programs. Of course, the VisualApplets generated pixel-split-images will be displayed horizontally expanded. Thus, in VisualApplets, pixel splitting is a mere storing option for images with a high bit width (color depth).

To load an image with high bit width that has been stored as a BMP or TIFF file into your simulation source, you have to merge the adjacent pixels that share the color information for one original pixel back to one pixel. Thus, simulation source viewers can merge the pixel-split-images for correct mapping. The splitting can be done in the Simulation Probe Viewer (see 'Evaluating the Simulation Results'). You can define the settings for pixel merge in the Simulation Source Viewer tab Image File – Mapping:

Pixel Merge

Figure 84. Pixel Merge


In the following example, a 2048x1024 BMP file with a bit width (color depth) of 8 bit has been loaded into the source. It is to be interpreted as a 16 bit 1024x1024 image.

If you enter 2 in the Merge N pixel into 1 pixel field, the bit width of the image in your source changes from 8 bit to 16 bit per color channel, whereas the row length of the image in your source will be only half as long, thus changing from 2048 to 1024 pixel.

Before merge:

Merging Factor = 1, Image Properties Do Not Fit Link Properties

Figure 85. Merging Factor = 1, Image Properties Do Not Fit Link Properties


After merge:

Merging Factor = 2, Properties of Merged Image Fit Link Properties

Figure 86. Merging Factor = 2, Properties of Merged Image Fit Link Properties


Setting the Number of Processing Cycles and Starting the Simulation

After you have loaded a test image or test image sequence to your source and defined all settings for the image, you can start the simulation.

[Caution] Use Simulation Probes

Make sure you inserted (and connected) simulation probes on all positions where you want to check image processing results (see ' Inserting Sources and Probes into your Design').

  1. From the main menu, select AnalysisStart Simulation, or click the toolbar icon Start Simulation. Now, VisualApplets automatically triggers a Design Rules Check 1.

    The Simulation window opens up:

    Simulation Window

    Figure 87. Simulation Window


    In the upper pane, all simulation sources and simulation probes currently active in the design are listed. The list serves only information purposes.

    In the lower pane of the window, you see the results of Design Rules Check 1.

    You can change the display of the list via a drop-down list box:

    • Simulation Sources and Simulation Probes display only the sources and probes you have set for simulation.

    • All Sources and All Probes display all data sources and data destinations within your design.

    Changing Source and Probe Display

    Figure 88. Changing Source and Probe Display


[Caution] Influence of Errors and cautions

A simulation can only be started if no error was detected during Design Rules Check 1. Warnings created by Design Rules Check 1 do not prevent starting the simulation.

[Note] Note

Single operators cannot be selected for simulation. A simulation will always run through all operators of a design.

If the list in the main simulation window shows a simulation source or probe marked by a yellow warning triangle, this source/probe is not connected to a link of your design and will be ignored during simulation.

Non-connected Simulation Modules

Figure 89. Non-connected Simulation Modules


[Note] Note

Camera operators do not emit data during simulation. One needs to connect a simulation source to the output link to provide data for the simulation.

In the Processing Cycle field, you can specify how many processing cycles you want the program to carry out.

You can also configure the simulation and the processing cycles via the System Settings menu: SettingsSystem SettingsSimulation:

Simulation Settings

Figure 90. Simulation Settings


Simulate data flow synchronization cleared: Each source in your design, e.g. simulation sources and operators like CreateBlankImage, or CoefficientBuffer, emits one data set per cycle. The cycle ends, if no more data is to be processed or transported. A simplified data management allows operators to divert from the behavior of the corresponding entity in hardware. This means, instead of storing incoming data inside the input ports, an operator might implement unrealistically large internal buffers.

Simulate data flow synchronization selected: The design as a whole is simulated once per cycle from source(s) to sink(s). The focus is on precise modeling of dependencies and accurate data management. Sources are permitted to provide one or more data sets per cycle. The simulation might prevent sources from emitting data if previously generated data is still to be processed. Therefore, operators leave incoming data inside their input ports until data processing requires it to be collected. As long as valid data is stored in the incoming port, upstream operators are prevented from producing data. This causes congestions and corresponds to the concept of inhibits in hardware and allows for the detection of deadlocks.

Simulate 1D line by line: 1D data can be processed by aggregating several lines to one 2D frame and simulates it like any other 2D data. This is fast and robust but limits the simulation to exactly one simulation cycle. If you select Simulate 1D line by line, each line is processed individually and thus allows multi-step simulations, e.g., to deal with 1D loops. This feature relies on data flow synchronization, this means you can only select this option, if Simulate data flow synchronization is selected.

[Note] Behavior of Simulation Probes During Simulate 1D line by line

For simulation probes connected to 1D links, incoming line data is appended to the last frame in the simulation probe. After each processing cycle, the respective lines are finalized and a new frame is started. While the simulation dialog is open, the Sequence Viewer is locked.

After selecting the desired amount of Processing Cycles in the Simulation view, the simulation can be run by clicking the Start button. As the internal status of all operations is maintained, consecutive runs can be launched from the same window, as long as the simulation dialog is kept open. Once the dialog is closed, all operators are reset to their initialization state.

Example: A given AppendImage operator expects three input images for concatenation. A connected source provides one image per processing cycle. The simulation is run for two cycles, a simulation probe connected to the output link of AppendImage does not show any data yet, since AppendImage still lacks one additional image to start the processing.

Second Simulation Step

Figure 91. Second Simulation Step


While the simulation dialog is still open, one can perform an additional (third) simulation cycle which in turn provides data at the connected simulation probe.

Third Simulation Step

Figure 92. Third Simulation Step


If the dialog was closed and reopened in the meantime, the additional simulation cycle would be executed after initializing the design and therefore would provide the first of the three required images for AppendImage.

[Note] Processing Order of Images within a Source Module

In a new processing cycle, always the next image of the image sequence loaded to the source is processed. When all images of the sequence have been processed, the first image of the sequence is processed again.

If only one image is loaded to the source, this image is processed again and again with each processing cycle. For example, if you specify four processing cycles, the one image of the source is being processed up to four times.

Depending on your design, the number of images fed into the design might differ from the number of images you get as an output, for example when you use the operators SplitImage or RemoveImage. Thus, for one processing cycle, you might get more or less images as result(s) in a probe than you have source modules in your design. See also the example ' Multiple DMA Channel Designs ' in the VisualApplets tutorial.

To clear the simulation and reset it to the start-up condition, use the Reset button.

A reset produces the following effects:

  • The image sequence in all simulation sources is reset, that is, a new simulation will start with the first image of the sequence again.

  • The content of all probes is deleted.

  • All operators are reset to their start-up condition (e.g., image counters, uncollected data in input ports).

Now, you are ready to start the simulation of data processing as defined in your design.

  1. Click Start to start the simulation.

The current simulation status is displayed in a progress bar at the bottom of the Simulation view. Warnings and errors are displayed in the Log panel, which you can open or close by clicking the Show Details/Hide Details button. As soon as warnings or errors occur, the Log panel is displayed automatically.

[Tip] Tip

If you want to, you can keep the viewer windows of your simulation modules open during simulation. However, this will slow down simulation.

Successful Simulation

Figure 93. Successful Simulation


While a simulation is in progress, the simulation probe modules are filled with the resulting images. Thumbnails of the simulation results are displayed in the preview image frames. After opening the simulation viewer window of a simulation probe, the result(s) will be displayed in full size.

[Note] Automatic Simulation Reset

The simulation will automatically reset when you change your design. On reset, all simulation probes are cleared, too.

Evaluating the Simulation Results

After the simulation, you find the simulation results in the probes.

[Note] Some Images Are Not Displayed in Probes

When simulation probes contain very large images, VisualApplets may fail to display these images correctly due to memory limitations. In that case, a gray image (i.e. all pixels have the value 205 (0xCD)) is shown. If this happens, use smaller images for your simulation.

Double-click a probe in your design to open the Simulation Probe Viewer.

It looks similar to a Simulation Source Viewer (see 'Loading the Image File(s) to your Simulation Source(s) '): The settings channel is located at the left hand side, the display channel on the right hand side, and the Sequence Viewer at the bottom of the Simulation Probe Viewer window.

In the Simulation Probe Viewer, you get the simulation results displayed for a first evaluation. You can alter the display options by pixel alignment, and save the images to file. For saving, there are several options available, like, e.g., pixel splitting.

You can zoom in and out on the image displayed in the display channel by either using the corresponding icons in the toolbar, or by using CTRL+MouseWheelUp to zoom in and CTRL+MouseWheelDown to zoom out.

If you choose a very high zooming factor, a pixel grid is displayed for better orientation and the corresponding pixel values are textually represented.

Pixel Values

Like in the Simulation Source Viewer, on each pixel in the display panel two crosshair cursors are displayed. If you can’t see the two crosshair cursors, zoom in on the picture in the display panel. The white/black crosshair cursor shows the current position of the cursor of your mouse, whereas the colored one is positioned in the center of the pixel the mouse cursor points on. This crosshair cursor is also displayed in the Magnifier on exactly the same pixel.

In the settings panel, the corresponding pixel values are displayed:

Pixel Values Probe

Figure 94. Pixel Values Probe


You have different options to adjust the interpretation of color values for the selected pixel:

  • You can choose whether you want to see them as hexadecimal numbers or as signed or unsigned decimal numbers.

  • You can set the number of fractional bits for an interpretation as fixed-point numbers.

  • Additionally, you can define a scaling factor which is multiplied to the values. This is useful for performing linear conversions like radiant to degree.

Display shows the value(s) displayed on your screen. This value/these values might be different from the actual color values (or gray-shade value) if a 16 bit or 48 bit image is in your probe, since on screen, only 8 bit can be displayed per color channel.

You may select a color map which performs tone mapping between the values in Display and the shown color in the image window. This is especially useful when dealing with signed image data or when the contained image characteristics are poorly visible in a grey-scale representation.

If the simulation probe is connected to a link which transports kernels, you can select the individual kernel images in the kernel Row and kernel Column spin boxes in the Kernel panel.

Image Sequence

Once an image is simulated, it is instantaneously displayed in the Simulation Probe Viewer and added to the Sequence Viewer.

You cannot change the order of images in the Simulation Probe Viewer.

However, you can delete one or more images of a sequence:

  1. Press CTRL and select the images you want to delete.

  2. Press DEL or select from the menu EditRemove Selected.

If you change the image properties by mapping (for example, when you save 16-bit images in BMP files), the thumbnails are not refreshed automatically. By default, the Sequence Viewer displays the thumbnails of the original simulation results.

Varying Row Length

VisualApplets is not limited to processing and displaying rectangular images with homogeneous row length. It can also display images with rows that are of different length.

The image size for such images is calculated by VisualApplets as follows:

[Tip] Calculating Image Size for Images with Inhomogeneous Row Lengths

Image size = number of pixels of longest row * number of rows

Rows with row length NULL are counted as well. The undefined areas of the image are represented in the display by a blue-to-cyan color gradient:

Display of Undefined Image Areas

Figure 95. Display of Undefined Image Areas


Empty images are displayed by the symbol Empty Image and cannot be saved.

Empty Image Symbol

Figure 96. Empty Image Symbol


Display Alignment

The display panel of the Simulation Probe Viewer offers two ways of displaying the same image:

  • If you activate Link View, the image is displayed as it looked like when it was passed to the probe by the link.

  • If you activate File View, the image is displayed as it will look when you save it with the current settings to file.

Since monitors always use 8 bit per color channel, images with higher or lower bit width cannot be displayed without further ado.

If a simulation result has a bit width higher than 8 bit, you can use the offset slider to select the 8 bit you want to have displayed in the display panel:

Link View

Figure 97. Link View


In this example, the upper 8 bits of a 16-bit gray scale are chosen for display.

If the bit width of the image is smaller than 8 bit, the gray-scale values of the test image are automatically mapped to the 256 gray-scale values of the 8-bit monitor display. This mapping doesn’t change the number of shades of gray displayed, but enhances the contrast between them. Without this mapping, the human eye might not be able to see an image at all. Take, for example, 1-bit images: If the values 0 and 1 are used for monitor display without mapping, both are interpreted as black by the human eye. In this case, the automatic bit width mapping of VisualApplets interprets 0 as 0 (black) and 1 as 255 (white).

Line Profile

The Line Profile view shows the individual color values or gray values of a line. You can open the Line Profile via the menu Tools.

There are two output areas:

  • Overview: The individual color values or gray values of the entire line are displayed.

  • Detail: Enlarges an area marked in the Overview view. The area that is currently displayed in the Detail view is highlighted in the Overview view with a white background. You can move the area displayed in the Detail view with the scroll bar under the Detail view.

Line Profile View

Figure 98. Line Profile View


With the spin box Line Index, you can select a certain line in the image and the line is marked in the Display panel.

For color images, you can switch the individual color channels on or off with the checkboxes R, G, B, and Y. Y stands for brightness. In addition, you can select a specific pixel position in the line via the spin box Position X or with the cyan marker. To use the cyan marker, just move the mouse into the Detail view. The values are then displayed in R, G, B, and Y.

Line Histogram

The Line Histogram view is a representation of the distribution of color values or gray values only of the selected line in an image. You can open the Line Histogram via the menu Tools.

Line Histogram View

Figure 99. Line Histogram View


The histogram view is scaled so it always spans the full height of the diagram.

With the spin box Line Index, you can select a certain line in the image. As in the Line Profile view, the line is then marked in the Display panel.

For color images, you can switch the individual color channels on or off with the checkboxes R, G, B, and Y. Y stands for brightness. In addition, you can select a specific color value via the spin box Value or with the cyan marker. To use the cyan marker, set the mouse cursor into the output view.

For larger color depths, for example 16-bit images, the spin box Bin is displayed instead of the spin box Value and the bin ranges are displayed next to it:

For a selected Value or Bin number, the number of pixels with values in the corresponding range are shown in Count. You can manually enter the number in Value or Bin or select the number by pointing the mouse to the diagram.

For color images, the output is split into the basic color values RGB and the brightness value Y.

Displaying Statistical Data

The Line Histogram view also displays the following statistical values, which are calculated for the selected line:

  • Mean value

  • Standard Deviation (St. Dev.)

  • Minimal (Min.) value

  • Maximum (Max.) value

Image Histogram

The Image Histogram view is a representation of the distribution of color values or gray values in an image. You can open the Image Histogram via the menu Tools.

Image Histogram View

Figure 100. Image Histogram View


The histogram view is scaled so it always spans the full height of the diagram.

For color images, you can switch the individual color channels on or off with the checkboxes R, G, B, and Y. Y stands for brightness. In addition, you can select a specific color value via the spin box Value or with the cyan marker. To use the cyan marker, set the mouse cursor into the output view.

For larger color depths, for example 16-bit images, the spin box Bin is displayed instead of the spin box Value and the bin ranges are displayed next to it:

For a selected Value or Bin number, the number of pixels with values in the corresponding range are shown in Count. You can manually enter the number in Value or Bin or select the number by pointing the mouse to the diagram.

For color images, the output is split into the basic color values RGB and the brightness value Y.

Displaying Statistical Data

The Image Histogram view also displays the following statistical values, which are calculated for the selected image:

  • Mean value

  • Standard Deviation (St. Dev.)

  • Minimal (Min.) value

  • Maximum (Max.) value

Saving Simulation Results

You can save your simulation results in the image file formats TIFF/TIF, BMP, JPEG/JPG, PNG, GIF, and PSD. The TIFF format offers native support of 8 and 16 bit per color channel, BMP offers only 8 bit per channel.

Before you actually save your image as TIFF/TIF or BMP file, you should define all saving settings in the Save Options dialog.

  1. To open the dialog, from the main menu of the Simulation Probe Viewer select FileSave Options. As a result, the Save Options panel opens up on the right hand side of the Simulation Probe Viewer.

Save Options Dialog

Figure 101. Save Options Dialog


In Destination File Format, you can define the format in which you want to save the image:

File Format Options for Saving

Figure 102. File Format Options for Saving


If you want to save a 1-bit simulation result in an 8-bit file format, check the box Normalize gray values. Normalizing in this context means mapping 0 to 0 (black) and 1 to 255 (white).

Pixel Alignment

If the bit width of the image (= the bit width of the link) is the same as the bit width of the file format you have chosen for saving, you can save the image 1:1.

If the bit width of the image is smaller than the bit width of the file format, you can change the pixel alignment offset using the slider. This way, you can save the bits of the simulation result on a certain location within the (larger) pixel of the file format. For example, save the bits of a 12-bit link on the lowest 12 bits or the highest 12 bits of a 16 bit TIFF image.

If the bit width of the image is larger than the bit width of the file format, you can use the slider for choosing which bits out of an image pixel you want to save to file and which bits can be discarded.

To get a preview on the (stripped) image as it will be saved to file: In the main window of the Simulation Probe Viewer, set the radio button on top of the settings panel to File View.

Pixel Splitting

If you want to use the pixel splitting option of VisualApplets, you can define to how many pixels you want to split the color information of one pixel (see also 'Pixel Spitting and Merging') .

If you want to save, for example, a 16-bit simulation result in a 8-bit BMP file, set Split 1 Pixel into to 2 pixels. Now, the 16-bit pixel of the image is split into two 8-bit pixels.

Setting the Splitting Factor in the Save Options Dialog

Figure 103. Setting the Splitting Factor in the Save Options Dialog


By splitting, the row length is doubled, tripled, etc. (depending on the splitting factor). In our example, the row length is doubled. Regular image visualization/processing programs can display these split images. But since they assume a bit width of 8 bit, the image display is expanded horizontally.

[Note] Reconversion of Split Image

You can load a split image in a simulation source and re-convert it to its original bit width by using the pixel merge option (see 'Pixel Spitting and Merging').

Saving

[Important] Important

When selecting FileSave from the main menu, all settings you have defined in the Save Options dialog are applied.

For saving your simulation results to file, proceed as follows:

  1. Select from the main menu FileSave.

  2. Define saving location and file name.

  3. Click Save.

[Tip] Saving an Image Sequence

You can also save a whole image sequence. To save an image sequence, select all images you want to save in the Simulation Viewer. To do so, hold CTRL pressed and click on the images. Then, select from the main menu FileSave. The saved images are automatically numbered.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I converted a color image to a gray-scale image and tried loading it to a simulation source. However, VisualApplets denies loading the image onto a one-channel link. What is the problem?

A: The image still uses 3 channels (with 0% saturation) for color information. Just convert your image to a one-channel image.

Q: My simulation probes do not include any results after simulation. What is the problem?

A: You might not have simulated enough simulation cycles. Increase the number of cycles. Moreover, your algorithm might not generate any output images. Check the respective operator restrictions in the operator references. Also, simulation probes connected to signal links never show output data.

Q: My simulation probes are cleared automatically. Why?

A: Each time the design is modified, the simulation probes might get cleared. This does not occur for minor changes of your design like moving modules or modifying internal parameters of operators that do not affect current ports. Probes are invalidated for changes that alter the topology of the design or parameter changes that are propagated through links to connected operators.