The Khronos Group has announced its plans to create a new open standard for advanced device and sensor input, essentially simplifying portable application development.
The not-for-profit organization, consisting of such partners as Apple, Epic Games and Intel, hopes the Khronos StreamInput working group will encourage developers to create a cross-platform API that will enable significant innovations by sensor and device manufacturers.
Khronos, which oversees creation of the widely-used OpenGL specification, said the new initiative would target "advanced input devices including depth cameras, motion-tracking sensors, touch-screens and haptic devices."
Both new generation sensors and more traditional input devices like track pads and joysticks will be supported by this new API. It will also support advanced multi-sensor applications, with the likes of augmented reality mechanisms being added and supported easily.
Gavriel State, founder and CTO at TransGaming Inc who has offered to initially chair the group, said, "The StreamInput working group already has a strong variety of supporters both inside and outside of Khronos, and we hope that many other companies will join us to help build a lasting standard that can be broadly adopted across multiple devices and market segments."
President of Khronos and VP of Mobile Content at NVIDIA Neil Trevett noted, "Input devices now range from simple keyboards, through nine-axis motion positional sensors, to depth ranging cameras with sophisticated image processing. A robust input API is essential to drive the market adoption of advanced sensors by enabling input fusion innovation under a common API that provides portability to application developers."
"This initiative will also enable advanced applications such as augmented reality that need to process and synchronize multiple sensors for a truly seamless end-user experience."
