SGI announces enhanced versions for the rendering APIs (application programming interfaces) based on the industry-standard OpenGL® graphics library. The new features include the OpenGL Shader™ , OpenGL Volumizer™ and OpenGL Optimiser™ tools.
OpenGL Shader 2.2
OpenGL Shader, the industry’s most powerful tool for interactive appearance modelling, combines advanced compiler technology with hardware-accelerated OpenGL-based rendering capabilities. OpenGL Shader brings the power of programmable shaders, commonly found in offline rendering, to the realm of real-time graphics, allowing the developer to take advantage of a wide range of existing special effects as well as the ability to create an unlimited variety of new effects. OpenGL Shader 2.2 provides a common interface that supports all visual effects generated with given methods, including methods such as RealityMapping™, ClearCoat™ and ClearCoat™360, as well as bump mapping, multiple textures, environment mapping and volume shading. On the other hand, the user has the option of updating the effect parameters in real time.
With the help of OpenGL Shader, for example, automotive developers can scrutinise the surface quality and appeal of each outer skin section during the software-supported reviewing of their styling designs by displaying them under various lighting and environmental conditions.pilots in flight simulators also have the opportunity to train under particularly realistic conditions with closed cloud cover, in fog and, above all, in critical low-altitude flight.
OpenGL Shader represents a revolutionary development in the field of high-quality, real-time appearance modelling. The tool enables complex applications to be equipped with an enormous degree of realism, as it allows highly realistic shading and effects to be realised that would otherwise only be possible using extremely complex, expensive processes such as ray tracing that run in offline mode.
OpenGL Volumiser 2.0
OpenGL Volumizer, the only commercially available high-level API for the visualisation of volumetric data sets, is the next-generation volume rendering toolkit for the SGI™Onyx® family of scalable visualisation systems with InfiniteReality® graphics subsystems. OpenGL Volumizer 2.0 has been specifically designed to provide users with even more interactivity when handling data sets up to 100 GB in size and to bring 3D texture mapping hardware to bear, increasing application performance by factors of 10 to 100.
The new features and functions include
- A descriptive high-level interface to volume rendering capabilities
- Seamless integration with scene graph APIs
- Immediate-mode rendering, for reduced overhead and increased performance
- Volumetric shapes, arbitrary volumetric geometry and cutting planes
- Thread safe, for parallel applications and multipipe environments
- Volumetric lighting and shaders
- Example code of a transform editor
- Example code of an application for full-volume viewing, for use on multipipe configurations of the SGI Onyx families.
OpenGL Volumizer can also be used together with existing SGI™ toolkits such as OpenGL Performer™ or Open Inventor™ to increase the functionality of current applications or to create new applications.
OpenGL Optimiser 1.3.1
OpenGL Optimiser has opened up new ways for manufacturing companies to understand, develop and manufacture their products. Using this tool, software developers can create applications that bring the benefits of digital prototyping – reducing physical prototypes and development time – to the point where interaction with large data sets is required.
OpenGL Optimizer 1.3.1 includes advanced methods to optimise, advance, simplify and improve visualisation performance for complex 3D models. The tool enables a new category of applications where the user interacts with complex data sets up to 100 times faster than before.
The new features and functions include
- Up to 2x faster execution for multithreaded applications under IRIX® and Windows NT®
- Support for the graphics subsystems SGI™VPro™ V6 /8 /10 /12
- Model loader for ProEngineer® and Catia®
- Troubleshooting tool for Fresnel topology
- Extended support for stereo and multipipe environments
- Nodes for multi-pass rendering
- Improved handling of textures.
