Using COTS Graphics Processing Units in Signal Analysis Workstations

Abstract

Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) graphics processing units (GPU) perform the signal processing operations needed for video games and similar consumer applications. The high volume and competitive nature of that industry have produced inexpensive GPUs with impressive amounts of signal processing power. These devices use parallel processing architectures to execute DSP algorithms far faster than single, or even multi-core central processing units typically found in workstations. This paper describes a project which improves the performance of a radar telemetry application using the NVidia™ brand GPU and CUDA™ software, although the results could be extended to other devices.