The ASDEX upgrade digital video processing system for real-time machine protection

This paper describes the design, implementation, and operation of the Video Real-Time (VRT) diagnostic system of the ASDEX Upgrade plasma experiment and its integration with the ASDEX Upgrade Discharge Control System (DCS). Hot spots produced by heating systems erroneously or accidentally hitting the vessel walls, or from objects in the vessel reaching into the plasma outer border, show up as bright areas in the videos during and after the reaction. A system to prevent damage to the machine by allowing for intervention in a running discharge of the experiment was proposed and implemented. The VRT was implemented on a multi-core real-time Linux system. Up to 16 analog video channels (color and b/w) are acquired and multiple regions of interest (ROI) are processed on each video frame. Detected critical states can be used to initiate appropriate reactions – e.g. gracefully terminate the discharge. The system has been in routine operation since 2007.