What are some practical applications of an FPGA?

Question

I\'m super excited about my program powering a little seven-segment display, but when I show it off to people not in the field, they always say \"well what can you do with it?\"

Answer 1

Automotive image processing is one interesting domain:

Providing lane-keeping support to the driver (disclosure: I wrote this page!):

http://www.conekt.co.uk/capabilities/50-fpga-for-ldw

Providing an aerial view of a car from 4 fisheye-lens cameras (with video):

http://www.logicbricks.com/Solutions/Surround-View-DA-System/Xylon-Test-Vehicle.aspx