Abstract: A specialized hardware engine implementing a pipeline technique allows a host graphic workstation to process and display bit mapped images in real time. This hardware engine is capable to apply a pixel by pixel transformation to a wide variety of images (e.g. monoband or three bands such as RGB with 1/2/4/8/12 bit per pixel) and displaying the resulting images that should be zoomed, shrinked, rotated, panned and moved at a high display rate. All the hardware blocks in this pipeline are fully programmable by an onboard microprocessor to allow maximum image manipulation flexibility and a wide range of image functions. Supported image functions include discrete and smooth image size magnification and reduction by bilinear interpolation, 2D/3D image transformation with perspective, image panning, scrolling and moving, color transformation by color look up table (CLUT) with support of a wide variety of pixel format images, and RGB images processing at the same speed as monoband images processing.

Abstract: System and method for scaling the size of a digital image from a first digital image to a second digital image by a specified scaling factor of G. The apparatus comprises an interpolator module configured to magnify the first digital image by a first scaling factor G1. The interpolator is further configured to output an intermediate digital image indicative of the magnified first image. The apparatus further comprises a shrinking module configured to shrink the intermediate digital image outputted by the interpolator module by a second scaling factor G2 to thereby generate the second digital image. Scaling factor G2 is a power of two.