State-of-the-Art 3D Graphics for Embedded Systems

The early days of 3D graphics computing were marked by extremely expensive and highly sophisticated hardware and software. Terms like ubiquitous computing and 3D on handhelds were unthinkable. But the development of obliging common standards like OpenGL, for example, together with rapidly improving graphics technology turned the coin, and now everybody demands for high-performance user interfaces on his everyday-computing environment. Game development industry focuses on mobile technology. Automotive engineering introduces multimodal interfaces and entertainment systems for next generation cars. Although all industrial sectors ask for high performance graphics, they often focus on different aspects due to the still existing limitations of their graphics devices. This leads to a demand to revise and also optimize the graphics standards in order to make them suitable for special embedded and small-scale devices. This paper presents the state of development of OpenGL-ES, a 3D-standard for embedded graphics, its difference to regular OpenGL and its benefit for small-footprint interactive systems. Special aspects of safety-critical devices in avionics and military applications are discussed. Actual applications and research are referenced