Bulk JPEG Decoding on In-Memory Processors

JPEG is a common encoding format for digital images. Applications that process large numbers of images can be accelerated by decoding multiple images concurrently. We examine the suitability of using a large array of in-memory processors (PIM) to obtain a high throughput of decoding. The main drawback of PIM processors is that they do not have the same architectural features that are commonly found on CPUs such as floating point, vector units and hardware-managed caches. Despite the lack of features, we demonstrate that it is feasible to build a JPEG decoder for PIM, and evaluate its quality and potential speedup. We show that the quality of decoded images is sufficient for real applications, and there is a significant potential for accelerating image decoding for those applications. We share our experiences in building such a decoder, and the challenges we faced while doing so.