Technologies
OpenGL and Qt3D
OpenGL plays an important role when compelling graphics are required for your application. Understanding how best to utilize OpenGL and Qt3D will make all the difference when developing an application that will captivate your audience. ICS provides consulting, software development and training services for OpenGL and Qt3D, and can help you avoid the steep learning curve and potential design errors often associated with using these technologies.
ICS engineers experienced in OpenGL and Qt3D can help you:
- Configure, optimize and debug OpenGL and/or Qt3D on a wide range of systems
- Create valuable 3D renderings of data, such as chemical structures, seismic data, CAD models, big data visualization and medical imaging
- Embed specific OpenGL code into cross-platform applications using modern development techniques to assure maximum supportability
- Ensure the use of OpenGL and Qt remains portable across target operating systems and hardware platforms, including mobile (iOS, Android, Blackberry), embedded (Linux, QNX, etc.) and desktop (Windows, OSX, Linux)
- Help you determine whether is it appropriate to use Qt3D or OpenGL for your project
- Select the best hardware for your project
About the Technologies
OpenGL
Open Graphics Library (OpenGL) is a cross-language, cross-platform, application programming interface (API) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics. The API is typically used to interact with a graphics processing unit (GPU) to achieve hardware-accelerated rendering. OpenGL is used extensively in the fields of computer-aided design (CAD), virtual reality, scientific visualization, information visualization, flight simulation and video games.
Qt3D
Qt3D is a Qt module that provides support for 2D and 3D rendering. It also provides a generic framework for supporting simulations that go beyond just rendering, and can include features like physics, audio, collision detection, artificial intelligence and path finding.
ICS creates compelling 2D and 3D applications with OpenGL and Qt3D.
The ICS Advantage When Using Qt and OpenGL
GE Inspection Technologies
ICS assisted GE Inspection Technologies division in testing one of its larger embedded imaging systems with limited debugging facilities. This existing product was designed using OpenGL visual data displays and for no known reason, at times, it would simply stop working. The ICS team used our extensive OpenGL knowledge to provide an investigative approach to solving the issue. Our engineers identified several OpenGL driver bugs that caused the device to crash/lockup, thus preventing the shipment of the product. ICS utilized our OpenGL experience to develop workarounds that stabilized the system for delivery to customers. As part of this work, we performed an extensive code-review that led to several suggestions for improvement resulting in a working product.
Ivenix
One of the biggest challenges in the development of medical devices is safety and the industry is beset with complex manufacturing, market and regulatory challenges. Specifically, the infusion pump category has been slow to evolve despite an increase of drug dosing complexity and demand for interoperability between pump and other systems, with safety always as a top concern. To solve this challenge, Ivenix, an innovative medical device company, wanted to deliver an advanced intravenous infusion management system and chose ICS for its deep experience using Qt/QML within an agile, test-driven production environment. Qt was selected to increase product usability, system stability and safety while reducing costs and time to market. OpenGL was used for the graphic display and ICS was asked to develop a test plan to identify and isolate an OpenGL graphics anomaly. This 360-degree approach evaluated the entire software stack including Qt/QML and recommendations were made to isolate the root cause. The methodology was successful and the infusion pump was released for FDA approval and future clinical use. Read More >>
Online Software Company
As experts in Qt/QML, ICS has experience building modern, fluid user interfaces for software applications. One online software client needed a way to create and implement a brand new, animated user interface (UI) for version 2.0 of its existing product application. This product allows for image editing to prepare it for printing on different surfaces (such as t-shirts or cakes) via color separation. ICS was brought into this software imaging company to help build a new interface for this color separation product. Our engineers performed a variety of skilled enhancements, including building an image editor with multiple capabilities involving different image filters. This allowed the application faster UI feedback that was needed during the request of using filters, image positioning and image editing operations and more. By utilizing Qt/QML, OpenGL and its fragment shaders, the combined effort achieved a very swift and smooth front-end experience that was not available in the previous version of the software.
Medical Device Company
This clinical stage medical device company needed to develop a next generation ablation system to treat atrial fibrillation and other cardiac arrhythmias. During the early research and development phase, they needed to image clouds of tens of millions of data points quickly and with high fidelity. Smooth user interface (UI) interaction, e.g., panning and zooming, as well as innovative colorizations for visualization purposes were required. Senior engineers from ICS quickly applied their expertise and implemented a solution using the Visualization ToolKit (VTK), which is an OpenGL based library utilized in engineering, science and government agency projects. Our efforts allowed our client to focus on the scientific outcome of the development and validation of its system, helping this young medical device group to close Series B funding.