Hardware-Friendly Unidirectional Disparity-Search Algorithm for 3D-HEVC

This paper presents a novel hardware-friendly Unidirectional Disparity-Search (UDS) algorithm for the 3D-HEVC. This algorithm explores the typical camera arrangements used in 3D-HEVC. UDS was evaluated in two operation points reaching a computational effort reduction from 32.7% to 61.8%, with a BD-Rate increase from 0.3123% to 0.4803%, when compared to TZS. Estimated hardware results showed memory-size and leakage-energy reductions of 66.7%, a dynamic-energy reduction from 34.5% to 62.1%, and an energy-consumption reduction from 32.7% to 61.8% in SAD calculations, when compared to TZS. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first proposed DE algorithm that explores the 3D-HEVC typical camera arrangement.