Motorola releases a technical paper which addresses the OMX IL implementation on a dual core platform. Implementation of OMX aware applications and codec components is of great importance to Motorola because it eases platform migration and rapid integration of codecs from various internal and external sources. The OpenMAX (OMX) Integration Layer (IL) standard, developed by The Khronos Group, enables portability of multimedia codecs and their application across platforms. The paper is in PDF format. When we tried to download the PDF it took a bit for the download to finsh.
Physics Abstraction Layer (PAL) now has an extensive set of common features such as simulating different devices or loading physics configurations from XML or COLLADA files. PAL provides a unified interface to a number of different physics engines. This enables the use of multiple physics engines within one application. It is not just a simple physics wrapper, but provides an extensible plug-in architecture for the physics system, as well as extended functionality for common simulation components.
International Mobile Games Awards (IMGA) have announce the top 25 nominees from 224 game developers in 42 countries. The judging process was completed in Marseille in the Belle de Mai. The results were announced with a shortlist of 25 games in 5 different categories.
NVIDIA have launched their annual web-based Developer Survey for 2007. The survey helps NVIDIA steer their efforts in providing help, documentation, and tools for graphics developers. Don’t let the interests and goals of OpenGL developers go under-reported! Participate here.
OSG Community has announced two OpenSceneGraph courses from Blue Newt and Skew Matrix. These course being offereing in the US and Rome aim to provide students with a sweeping survey of OpenSceneGraph and its internals. The OpenSceneGraph is an open source high performance 3D graphics toolkit, used by application developers in fields such as visual simulation, games, virtual reality, scientific visualization and modelling. Written entirely in Standard C++ and OpenGL it runs on all Windows platforms, OSX, GNU/Linux, IRIX, Solaris, HP-Ux, AIX and FreeBSD operating systems.
One of the main new features of Quest3D 4.0 is the ability to import COLLADA format. This also enables run time import of models. So you can load COLLADA files into a finished and published application. It will import multiple texture stages, Skinning, animation and lights. Read the whole interview.
POWERVR Insider SDK 2.1 has over a dozen additions to the training section alone, along with support for the new Motorola Z8 phone and numerous updates for OpenGL ES 2.0 support. “The POWERVR OpenGL ES 2.0 SDK is a great way to get started developing next generation mobile graphics applications,” says Tom Olson, distinguished member of technical staff, Texas Instruments. “It is easy to install and use, and includes a good selection of helpful examples.” You can download it for free at PowerVRInsider.
Google has updated the 3D Warehouse with a significant new feature. Models in the 3D Warehouse can now be downloaded in the Collada file format (an open standard 3D file format). Collada files are supported by Google Earth. This is particularly significant because this means you now have an even faster way to bring models from the 3D Warehouse into Google Earth. The Collada files are downloaded in a Zip file. After downloading one you can simply drag the model’s DAE file from the Zip file straight into Google Earth’s Places folders and the model will be loaded on top of your current location. Note that if you are viewing the 3D Warehouse in a language other than English, you may not see the Collada file format option for a given model.
Khronos announced today that the 2007 Seoul Developer University presentations are now available online in PDF format. Fourteen presentations online from NVIDIA, Huone, AMD, Creative, Futuremark, GraphicRemedy, HI, Imagination, Nokia and TI. If you were not able to attend the Khronos 2007 Seoul Developer University this year, head on over to view the presentation slides now.
DMP announced a two day getting start GLSL Programming training course. The OpenGL ES roadmap has been tailored to the diverse needs of the embedded industry and contains two tracks with “1.X” and “2.X” specification roadmaps that will evolve in parallel. The 1.X roadmap will continue to be developed for new-generation fixed function 3D accelerators while the 2.X roadmap will enable emerging programmable 3D pipelines.This course introduce the world of programmable pipeline by explaining basic topics of the GLSL(OpenGL Shading Language) which is a core feature of OpenGL ES 2.x and OpenGL 2.x.
Symbian announced today New Symbian technologies to shape the future of converged mobile devices and service. Symbian Limited, developer and licensor of Symbian OS™, the market-leading operating system for advanced, data-enabled mobile phones known as smartphones, today announced two ground-breaking technologies, ScreenPlay and FreeWay, to power the future of mobile computing. The newly announced technologies offer dramatic enhancements in the vital areas of graphics and connectivity, which are essential in driving the growth and reach of smartphones. “Consumers are expecting more intuitive, more informative and more entertaining graphics experiences on their phones. Symbian is heavily involved with Khronos to help create and promote open standards for mobile graphics and media. By supporting open standard APIs, Symbian has ensured that ScreenPlay will receive strong industry support,” said Neil Trevett, president of the Khronos Group.
N-Sided wanted QUIDAM creations to be to be exportable in COLLADA, so they released a plugin to do just that. COLLADA is the best bridge for several major applications such as Softimage XSI and Blender already. The COLLADA export plug-in completes a wide range of already existing QUIDAM exports. Characters can now be exported in COLLADA at the resolution of your choice. All exports are ready to be animated, with textures, bones and skinning weights from low poly count to highly detailed meshes.
The Horde3D Physics Library Integration project has a small library connecting Bullet Physics Engine to the Horde3D Graphics Engine. A small sample application and example are included with the source code. The source also contains patch for the Horde3D Engine version 0.11 COLLADA Converter allowing usage of basic features of the COLLADA Physics extension.
Azteq Mobile revealed the availability of its end-to-end gaming solutions for mobile users. For mobile device OEMs, AZTEQ has developed a fully integrated game execution client, gameztaQTM, that integrates components such as a 3D game engine, 3D sound engine, a security agent and OpenGL® ES 2.0-based embedded graphics library.
ArcSoft, Inc. recently announced that ArcSoft TotalMedia(TM) Mobile multimedia software applications have been integrated in NXP’s Nexperia cellular system solution 5210 family for 2.5G/2.75G cellular feature phones. The ArcSoft TotalMedia(TM) Mobile software applications are pre-integrated in the 5210 family. Providing an OpenMax IL interface, the ArcSoft solution includes a media organizer, photo album and viewer, camera and camcorder, photo and video editor, and streaming-capable multimedia player.