ACADEMIA

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- SGI, inventor of the OpenGL(R) API and chair of its governing Architecture Review Board (ARB), today announced the formation of the OpenGL(R) 2.0 working group. OpenGL is the premier environment used by software developers to create interactive 2D and 3D visual applications for computer systems ranging from consumer PCs to graphics workstations and supercomputers. The formation of this group, approved at the June 2002 OpenGL ARB meeting, ensures the timely availability of the next major version of the industry-standard 3D graphics programming technology. Leveraging detailed proposals submitted by 3Dlabs and NVIDIA(R) Corp., the working group will cooperate to deliver OpenGL 2.0 in the next year. OpenGL 2.0 will represent both an enhancement to existing OpenGL functionality and an addition of support for emerging capabilities, such as high level vertex and pixel shaders, while maintaining compatibility with existing OpenGL implementations. Every one of the thousands of graphics applications that use OpenGL today can benefit from the enhancements incorporated into the future OpenGL 2.0 specification. The OpenGL 2.0 working group will be chaired by ATI Technologies, and includes a majority of the ARB members and numerous ARB participants. "Over 10 years ago, SGI recognized the need for the creation of a graphics standard that would incorporate industry expertise and experience, and led the development of OpenGL 1.0," said Dr. Eng Lim Goh, chief technology officer, SGI. "Since then, OpenGL has directly enabled the growth of a multi-billion- dollar industry. Now we are excited to participate in the creation of the next generation OpenGL, one that keeps the original vision alive." Broad Industry-Wide Endorsement "As the first company to deliver OpenGL API-based graphics accelerators on the PC platform, 3Dlabs has a long history of commitment and innovation around the API," said Neil Trevett, vice president of market development, 3Dlabs. "We recognized the need for OpenGL to reaffirm its role in setting the pace for graphics hardware and software advancement, and began work on our proposal for OpenGL 2.0. The widespread enthusiasm for OpenGL 2.0 has convinced us that we are on track and feel the time is right for submitting our proposal to the wider ARB working group." "OpenGL continues to be an extremely important standard for our customers, especially in the workstation space. Dell is committed to the continued development of open standards that benefit our customers," said Kevin Kettler, Dell's vice president of architecture and technology. "NVIDIA continues to play an active role in evolving OpenGL to include programmability at both low and high levels, and in driving developer adoption of these OpenGL capabilities," said Kurt Akeley, creator of OpenGL and NVIDIA graphics architect. "As an active member of this working group, NVIDIA will offer its technology for inclusion within OpenGL. NVIDIA believes that developers will benefit substantially from this effort." "OpenGL 2.0 is more than just an extension to OpenGL 1.4, it is a breakthrough design with expanded programmability and scalability," said Dr. Jon Peddie, president, Jon Peddie Research, and publisher of Tech Watch. "OpenGL has been the backbone of the graphics industry since 1992 and has always set the standard for graphics performance. The Architecture Review Board has shown how a not-for-profit standards organization can and should work-the OpenGL 2.0 working group is the latest proof of that." The OpenGL 2.0 working group will meet on a weekly basis for the next several months. It is anticipated that the proposed OpenGL 2.0 specification will be complete by the end of this year. The OpenGL ARB will then take up the task of approving the specification and implementations from graphics hardware developers are anticipated within a year. For more information about OpenGL visit www.opengl.org.