In this paper, a dedicated edge detection processor architecture based on field programmable gate arrays is presented. The architecture is an optimization of the Sobel edge detection filter, specifically focusing on the reduction of the computation time. The proposed architecture reduces the number of calculations required for the edge detection process by enhancing the data reuse, i.e. minimizing the frequency of memory access. Direct hardware implementation as proposed by previous works require most image pixels to be read from memory up to six times and transferred into the Sobel edge detection processor. In our work, we try to reduce the number of pixels read therefore affecting tremendous potential speed suitable for the embedded video processing applications. © 2010 IEEE.