Development of a high-throughput tracking processor on FPGA boards

We present the latest results on the prototype of a tracking processor capable of reconstructing events in a silicon-strip tracker at about 40 MHz event rate with sub-microsecond latency. The processor is based on an advanced pattern-recognition algorithm, called “artificial retina”, inspired to the vision system of the mammals. We design and implement one of the first functional prototype of this processor on a DAQ board based on Alters Stratix III FPGAs. Then, in order to test the maximum rate capability, we port and optimize the processor on a high-speed board equipped with Altera Stratix V FPGAs. Future applications of this novel approach as real-time track trigger at LHC experiments are also discussed.