Project by Max Nigri — GitHub · LinkedIn
This repository documents a hardware design project developed as part of the Advanced Logic Design course I taught at the Computer Engineering Department, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, from 2006 to 2017.
The course was designed from scratch and aimed to expose students to real-world chip design concepts through a challenging final project: implementing a JPEG encoder in hardware.
The idea for this project originated from my professional background in the video compression industry.
In the late 1990s, I worked at VisionTech, a company that developed the first real-time MPEG-2 encoder chip for digital cameras.
At that time, video encoding required specialized boards filled with digital chips and could not be performed in real time. To put it into perspective:
- Encoding 1 second of video used to take 10 seconds.
- VisionTech’s design achieved real-time encoding for the first time, a groundbreaking achievement.
- The company was later acquired by Broadcom, a major player in the semiconductor industry.
This experience shaped the foundation for the JPEG encoder project in the academic course.
The final project tasked students with building a JPEG encoder in hardware using digital logic and chip design methodologies.
By the end of the project, students achieved the following:
- Accept a BMP image file as input.
- Use a testbench to read the BMP file.
- Encode the image into a JPEG file.
- Produce a valid JPEG output that can be viewed in a browser or any standard image viewer.
As an optional extension, the design could be synthesized and mapped to an FPGA or even an ASIC, making the project a stepping stone toward real-world hardware implementation.
- Apply advanced logic design principles.
- Gain hands-on experience with digital image compression.
- Understand the mapping of algorithms to hardware.
- Explore the path from RTL design to FPGA/ASIC realization.
Keywords: JPEG encoder, FPGA, ASIC, hardware design, logic design, digital image compression, Verilog, VHDL, Advanced Logic Design, Hebrew University
This project is from an academic setting (2006–2017) and reflects the state of digital design education at that time. While technology has advanced since then, the fundamental principles of digital logic design, hardware description languages, and system-level thinking remain highly relevant today.