hardware copyleft como herramienta para la enseñanza del procesamiento de señales e imágenes

Digital signal-and-image processing is an area that covers a wide range of academic and commercial applications. It is a compulsory topic in most courses at engineering colleges. Moreover, thanks to the current achievements of the semiconductor industry, it is possible to obtain specialized devices that enable the creation of commercializable products in this area. This is important in developing countries such as Colombia, where the electronics industry is virtually non-existent and the country relies on products brought in from developed countries, specially from some Asian countries. This paper introduces two copyleft hardware platforms that can be studied, reproduced and modified even for commercial purposes. This prepresents a tool to study signal-and-image processing as well as a starting point for the creation of technology-based companies, which should reduce the high rates of unemployed professionals in technology-related markets.