A specialized track processor for the LHCb upgrade

We propose a specialized processor dedicated to efficient real-time reconstruction of charged-particle tracks in the upgraded LHCb detector. The main purpose of this $track$ $processing$ $unit$ is to relieve the event-filter farm from the repetitive, mechanizable calculations associated with the pattern-recognition task, providing it with more time for higher-level trigger functions. We develop a design based on a biology-inspired pattern-recognition algorithm implemented into modern field-programmable-gate-array devices, yielding high-quality tracking at the full crossing rate, with submicrosecond latencies. This document describes the concept, technical implementation, simulation, performance, costs, and personnel needs of the project.