| Q&A |
 Teemu
Uotila
Rightware
Feb. 2010 |
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 “Even
though Kanzi™ Solutions main focus is in user interface
and graphical content creation, it can be used for game development
also. Rightware’s intuitive content pipeline allows
plug-ins for physics engines and of course any other third
party software can be integrated, we do not limit it in anyway,
so you can use Kanzi to create games.”
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| Q1 |
Please give a brief description of Rightware. |
| A1 |
Rightware
is a spin-off company of Futuremarks Mobile & Embedded Business
Unit. Recently Rightware received a capital investment; this
enabled us to form a new company, where we could fully dedicated
our work to mobile, embedded and automotive sectors. Rightware
continues it work with the same group of people who were part
of Futuremarks Mobile & Embedded Business Unit, and due
to a significant capital investment, we are now able to accelerate
our operations even more. |
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| Q2 |
Because
of wide range of mobile technologies, developing for those devices
is often a very hard task. How can Kanzi™ reduce those
costs? |
| A2 |
Kanzi™
reduces costs due to its unique design and intuitive pipeline.
We approached this problem from designers’ perspective.
For example, when you create a user interface, the old way was
to have a constant dialog, back-and-forth play with programmers
and engineer, still the end-result wasn’t necessary what
it should’ve been. With Kanzi™, this entire unnecessary
dialog is reduced, and both the designer and engineer can better
focus their efforts to their respective fields. Designer creates
the user interface, and he/she can see instantly see what it
would look like in the end-device and create appealing look
& feel with great usability. This is a very effective way
to slice time-to-market cycle and simultaneously utilizes your
team’s resources and input in user interface, HMI or graphical
content creation. Kanzi™ toolchain can be described as
a rapid and smooth way of creation. |
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| Q3 |
Is
Kanzi™ capable of deploying 3D content on new mobile systems
such as iPhone OS and Android? |
| A3 |
Yes,
Kanzi™ is a platform independent solution. This means
that you can use Kanzi™ Solution in any operating system
and run it on any hardware. Kanzi™’s focus is
in high-quality 3D graphics, so whenever there are new mobile
phones and technologies entering in to the markets, we embrace
their technological prowess and let Kanzi™ Solution
make the best out this situation. |
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| Q4 |
Rightware
is also editing Furturemark benchmarks for mobiles (3DMarkMobile).
What do you think of the evolution of 3D capabilities of mobile
phones? |
| A4 |
3D
user interfaces and applications are definitely coming to
play a major role in the future. Obviously with 3D graphics,
the power consumption becomes an issue. Luckily there are
multi-CPU and –GPU solutions on the horizon, so power
management issues can be better addressed. With 3D graphics
you can create more intuitive ways to use applications –
after all, we live in three dimensional world and things come
more naturally to us in 3D, so why should mobile phone user
interfaces and applications be any different. |
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| Q5 |
It
seems that iPhone and other smartphones can compete with mobile
console (PSP). But are there any tools for authoring AAA games
on mobile platforms? |
| A5 |
Even
though Kanzi™ Solutions main focus is in user interface
and graphical content creation, it can be used for game development
also. Rightware’s intuitive content pipeline allows
plug-ins for physics engines and of course any other third
party software can be integrated, we do not limit it in anyway,
so you can use Kanzi to create games. Kanzi™ is a graphics
engine, which means in order to do a game you will need to
add the parts missing: audio, physics and the game logic itself. |
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| Q6 |
More
and more applications are using 3D : geo-localisation, serious
games... Are you also interested in those areas? |
| A6 |
Prospects
in 3D environment and its use-cases are definitely growing.
We are definitely looking in to these, but our main focus
will still be in mobile, embedded consumer products and in
automotive. For instance in geo-localization 3D applications
are indeed a benefit, but the need of high-quality 3D applications
in these areas are somewhat marginal. |
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| Q7 |
Rightware
seems to focus on open and standard technologies: OpenGL ES,
Collada, etc. Why? |
| A7 |
We
use Khronos open standards because they are very widely adopted,
and if we talk about the world of 3D, there is basically only
one option, OpenGL, if you want to do graphics for multiple
platforms. COLLADA on the other hand gives our customers the
freedom to choose the digital content creation they prefer
to use, for example 3DSMax, Maya, Softimage or Blender. The
geometry and animations can be create in a tool which the
designers already know, these can be then exported and imported
to our Kanzi™ tool through COLLADA. We do not want to
reinvent the wheel again. |
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| Q8 |
What
are the next milestones for Rightware? |
| A8 |
Naturally
we cannot disclose our internal milestones, but thanks to this
spin-off and capital investment Rightware can now take mobile,
embedded and automotive worlds by storm. We do genuinely believe,
that 3D is the way of the future and growth in user interfaces
and applications will be quite considerable in the coming years,
and we will be on the forefront in this segment. |
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