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Press Releases

The glFX Working Group is defining a run-time API to enable advanced 3D visual effects contained in a COLLADA FX file to be easily and portably used in OpenGL and OpenGL ES applications. The Composition Working Group is defining graphics APIs to enable window systems to be constructed using open standards for display composition to encourage mobile devices to use fully accelerated advanced user interfaces. Ardites, AZTEQ mobile, DaimlerChrysler, Coding Technologies, Marvell, Matrox, McubeWorks, Micron, NDS, NXP, Omegame, PineOne Communications, Tungsten and Vodafone have joined as new members. Khronos also announced a COLLADA contest to encourage open source COLLADA conditioning programs to be created and uploaded into the COLLADA Framework on Sourceforge.

Khronos has ratified and publicly released the finalized OpenGL ES 2.0 specification for programmable 3D graphics that will significantly boost the functionality, flexibility and visual realism offered by a wide range of embedded and mobile devices. Multiple OpenGL ES 2.0 silicon devices are expected to commence shipment before the end of 2007.

The OpenVG 1.0 Conformance Tests that can be used by vendors to certify that OpenVG implementations are compliant with the OpenVG specification and use the OpenVG trademark to encourage reliable, cross-platform vector graphics interoperability. The Sample implementation of OpenVG 1.0 is now open source under an MIT license to further enable OpenVG implementers and developers to leverage this innovative, royalty-free open standard in their products and applications.

Khronos has released a provisional version of the OpenKODE 1.0 specification to enable widespread developer feedback and rapid industry implementation of this important new standard that is designed to bring portability and advanced media acceleration to mobile handsets. The conformance tests for OpenKODE 1.0 are expected to be publicly released during the second quarter of 2007 to enable conformant implementations to use the OpenKODE trademark.

Khronos invites any interested party to execute a Khronos Reviewer's Agreement and provide feedback and guidance to the OpenKODE Working Group to ensure that this important standard meet the needs of the industry. Futuremark Corporation will create the OpenKODE Conformance Test Suite that will help ensure that OpenKODE provides a highly reliable set of cross-platform media APIs that mobile application developers can trust on any platform.

OpenGL 2.1 adds backwards compatible enhancements to OpenGL’s advanced programmable pipeline including: Pixel Buffer Objects for fast texture and pixel copies between frame buffer and buffer objects in GPU memory; texture images specified in standard sRGB color space for enhanced application color management flexibility; and numerous additions to increase the flexibility of shader programming including non-square matrix support, support for arrays as first-class objects, a fragment position query in shaders using Point Sprites and an invariant attribute for variables to enhance shader code reliability.

The COLLADA open standard XML-based digital asset exchange schema for interactive 3D applications is gaining rapid industry acceptance. COLLADA 1.4 is now supported by the industry's leading 3D authoring tools including 3ds Max, Blender, DAZ|Studio, Feeling Viewer, FX Composer, Google Earth, Houdini, Maya, Sketchup, and XSI as well as Khronos' COLLADA Test Framework, COLLADA DOM/FX/RT/Refinery COLLADA 1.4 includes core features such as mesh geometry, skinning, morphing, animation and data validation as well as COLLADA FX for defining visual effects and COLLADA Physics for physics effects including rigid body dynamics, rag dolls, constraints and collision volumes.

The OpenGL ARB (Architecture Review Board), the governing body for OpenGL, has voted to transfer control of the OpenGL API standard to the Khronos Group. The Khronos Group has voted to establish an OpenGL Working Group that will control and evolve this vital standard for cross-platform 3D graphics. The full transfer of OpenGL to Khronos is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2006 with full support for OpenGL and its evolution to continue uninterrupted during this transition.

Acrodea, Apple, DAZ3D, Dell, Google, Gremedy, Codeplay, and S3 Graphics have joined well over one hundred existing Khronos Group Members to define open standards for the authoring and acceleration of dynamic media on platforms ranging from embedded systems such as mobile phones to high-performance desktop and workstation systems.

KML, the geographic markup language for Google Earth, now supports the COLLADA digital asset exchange schema. COLLADA enables Google Earth to take advantage of 3D models with enhanced geometry and support for textures for greater realism. The COLLADA 1.4 schema is already supported in many popular 3D content creation applications as well as middleware and 3D applications.

Numerous Khronos members are now shipping devices accelerating OpenVG 1.0, a royalty-free, open standard for low-level 2D vector graphics. Monotype Imaging, Scaleform and TAT have joined to participate in ongoing development of the OpenVG API. The OpenVG standard has been designed to seamlessly interoperate with OpenGL ES 3D graphics; creating a high-performance, fully integrated 2D and 3D embedded graphics acceleration environment.