ABSTRACT Vector quantization algorithm based on fuzzy clustering has been widely used in the field of data compression since the use of fuzzy clustering analysis in the early stages of a vector quantization process can make this process less sensitive to its initialization. However, the process of fuzzy clustering is computationally very intensive because of its complex framework for the quantitative formulation of the uncertainty involved in the training vector space. To overcome the computational burden of the process, this paper introduces an array architecture for the implementation of fuzzy vector quantization (FVQ). The arrayarchitecture, which consists of 4,096 processing elements (PEs), provides a computationally efficient solution by employing an effective vector assignment strategy during the clustering process. Experimental results indicatethat the proposed parallel implementation providessignificantly greater performance and efficiency than appropriately scaled alternative array systems. In addition, the proposed parallel implementation provides 1000x greater performance and 100x higher energy efficiency than other implementations using today’s ARMand TI DSP processors in the same 130nm technology. These results demonstrate that the proposed parallel implementation shows the potential for improved performance and energy efficiency.Keywords:Fuzzy Vector Quantization, Fuzzy Clustering, Image Compression, Parallel Processing Architecture, Embedded Processors