The space available in FPGA Virtex devices allows the
implementation of a large matrix (e.g. 100x100). Our maps
use variable dimension matrices. The report generated by
Xilinx synthesis tool shows that the FPGA circuit is used only
at a small fraction of its capacity. For larger maps the amount
of BlockRAMs increases by a square function. Therefore, if
larger maps can not be stored into the BlockRAMs we can
also use the external DynamicRAM.
We used the simulation environment ModelSIM XE III 6.1
[11] to test if our hardware design has a proper functioning.
The waveforms generated in simulation helped us in choosing
the working frequency. We decided to make the first test at
the 120 MHz frequency.
The images taken from the hardware implementation of BF
algorithm show the map on the monitor. In Fig. 9, 10, 11, 12,
13 maps with different dimensions are used to verify that the
algorithm obtains the correct path and to check how much
time is required for that.