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{{short description|Not-for-profit member-funded industry consortium}}{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2017}}

factoids

| industry = Open standardsATI TechnologiesAutodesk Media and Entertainment>DiscreetEvans & Sutherland>Intel CorporationSilicon Graphics>SGI|Sun Microsystems}}| products = | predecessor = }}The Khronos Group, Inc. is an open, non-profit, member-driven consortium of 170 organizations developing, publishing and maintaining royalty-free interoperability standards for 3D graphics, virtual reality, augmented reality, parallel computation, vision acceleration and machine learning.WEB, OGC seeking participants in the Second Interoperable Simulation and Gaming Sprint,www.directionsmag.com/pressrelease/10658, directionsmag.com, 19 August 2021, WEB, Khronos Outlook and Web3D Consortium Town Hall,web3d.siggraph.org/tag/khronos/, web3d.siggraph.org, 19 August 2021, November 28, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201128193332/https://web3d.siggraph.org/tag/khronos/, dead, The open standards and associated conformance tests enable software applications and middleware to effectively harness authoring and accelerated playback of dynamic media across a wide variety of platforms and devices. The group is based in Beaverton, Oregon.WEB, Khronos and EMVA collaborate on embedded camera standards,linuxgizmos.com/khronos-and-emva-collaborate-on-embedded-camera-standards/, linuxgizmos.com, February 24, 2021, 19 August 2021,

History

The Khronos Group was founded in 2000 by companies including 3Dlabs, ATI, Discreet, Evans & Sutherland, Intel, SGI, and Sun Microsystems.WEB,www.khronos.org/members/conformant, Khronos Group Conformant members, April 13, 2023, Promoter members include AMD, Apple, Arm, Epic Games, Google, Huawei, Nokia, Imagination, Intel, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony, Valve and Verisilcon.WEB, Blackert, Axel, 2016, Evaluation of Multi-Threading in Vulkan, 16990966, en, Its president is Neil Trevett.WEB, Yoshida, Junko, Looking for APIs that Sit Between Sensors and Vehicle Apps?,www.eetimes.com/looking-for-apis-that-sit-between-sensors-and-vehicle-apps/#, eetimes.com, 19 August 2021,

Exploratory groups

Typically, Khronos first creates an exploratory group to gauge industry interest before creating a working group, which companies can join as members to assist in the development of the standard.WEB, Khronos Group exploring industry interest for new open standard for high performance embedded computing (HPEC) applications,www.greencarcongress.com/2019/01/20190117-khronos.html, 19 August 2021, greencarcongress.com,

Specifications and working groups

Each specification / standard is managed by a working group which is established to define the requirements, solicit input, discuss, and create a specification. There are currently 16 working groups.WEB, 2022-06-29, The Khronos Group,www.khronos.org/about/working-group-officers, 2022-06-29, The Khronos Group, en,

Standards and other activities

Active standards

• 3D Commerce, universal guidelines, standards and certifications for 3D content creation and distribution in e-commerceWEB, 2019-07-28, 3D Commerce - Render Everything Everywhere,www.khronos.or, 2023-10-03, The Khronos Group, en, WEB, The future of pervasive 3D, https:rapidcompact.com/pervasive-3d-interview-neil-trevett/, rapidcompact.com, December 8, 2020, 19 August 2021,
• ANARI, Analytic Rendering Interface for Data Visualization
• Camera, working on interoperable camera API standards for embedded systems, a cooperation with the European Machine Vision Association (EMVA)WEB, 2022-01-19, Camera,www.khronos.org//, 2022-06-29, The Khronos Group, en,
• COLLADA, a file-format intended to facilitate interchange of 3D assets
• EGL, an interface between Khronos rendering APIs (such as OpenGL ES or OpenVG) and the underlying native platform window systemWEB,www.khronos.org/egl/, EGL Overview, Khronos website, October 15, 2009,
• glTF, a file format specification for 3D scenes and modelsWEB,www.khronos.org/gltf, glTF, Khronos website, September 2, 2016,
• KTX, a container file format for storing GPU-ready texture dataWEB, Khronos Ratifies KTX 2.0,www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Khronox-KTX2-Format, phoronix.com, 19 August 2021,
• NNEF reduces machine learning deployment fragmentation by enabling a rich mix of neural network training tools and inference engines to be used by applications across a diverse range of devices and platformsNeural Network Exchange Format (NNEF)
• OpenCL, a cross-platform computation APIWEB,www.khronos.org/news/press/releases/khronos_launches_heterogeneous_computing_initiative/, Khronos launches heterogeneous computing initiative, Khronos press release, June 16, 2008, September 29, 2014,www.khronos.org/news/press/releases/khronos_launches_heterogeneous_computing_initiative/," title="web.archive.org/web/20080620123431www.khronos.org/news/press/releases/khronos_launches_heterogeneous_computing_initiative/,">web.archive.org/web/20080620123431www.khronos.org/news/press/releases/khronos_launches_heterogeneous_computing_initiative/, June 20, 2008, dead, WEB, Khronos Announces OpenCL 3.0,www.anandtech.com/show/15746/opencl-30-announced-hitting-reset-on-compute-frameworks, anandtech.com, 19 August 2021,
• OpenGL, a cross-platform computer graphics APIWEB, WebGL 2.0—Why It’s the Path to Stable Open Standards-based 3D Web Graphics,architosh.com/2019/02/webgl-2-0-why-its-the-path-to-stable-open-standards-based-3d-web-graphics/, architosh.com, February 12, 2019, 19 August 2021,
  • OpenGL ES, a derivative of OpenGL for use on mobile and embedded systems, such as cell phones, portable gaming devices, and more
  • OpenGL SC, a safety critical profile of OpenGL ES designed to meet the needs of the safety-critical market
• OpenVG, an API for accelerating processing of 2D vector graphics
• OpenVX, Hardware acceleration API for Computer Vision applications and libraries
• OpenXR, an open and royalty-free standard for virtual reality and augmented reality applications and devicesWEB, Khronos Group announces multiple OpenXR conformant devices,www.auganix.org/khronos-group-announces-multiple-openxr-conformant-devices-and-platforms-from-microsoft-oculus-and-others/, auganix.org, July 29, 2020, 19 August 2021,
• SPIR, an intermediate compiler target for OpenCL and Vulkan
• SYCL, a single-source C++ DSEL for heterogeneous computingWEB, Khronos Releases SYCL 2020 Specification,insidehpc.com/2021/02/khronos-releases-sycl-2020-specification-closer-alignment-with-iso-c/, insidehpc.com, February 9, 2021, 19 August 2021,
• Vulkan, a low-overhead computer graphics APIWEB, Khronos releases Vulkan 1.0 specification for GPU use,gfxspeak.com/2016/02/16/khronos-releases-vulkan-specification/, gfxspeak.com, February 16, 2016, 19 August 2021,
  • Vulkan SC, based on the existing Vulkan API specification to enable safety critical industries
• WebGL, a JavaScript binding to OpenGL ES within a browser on any platform supporting the OpenGL or OpenGL ES graphics standards

A timeline of API Specification ratification and releases can be found on the Khronos Group website.WEB, Khronos Timeline,www.khronos.org/about/timeline, khronos.org, 19 August 2021,

Exploratory Groups

• HetComm Exploratory, working on a new low level API to facilitate communication between hardware components in heterogenous systemsWEB, 2018-08-01, Exploratory Group - Heterogeneous Communication,www.khronos.org//, 2022-06-29, The Khronos Group, en,
• ML | Machine Learning Forum, standards on machine learningWEB, 2022-04-20, Khronos Machine Learning,www.khronos.org/machine-learning/, 2022-06-29, The Khronos Group, en,
• SYCL, a single-source C++ DSEL for heterogeneous computingWEB, 2022-03-23, SYCL SC,www.khronos.org//, 2022-06-29, The Khronos Group, en, (already a standard)

Other activities

• Member of the Metaverse Standards Forum, working on development of interoperability standards for an inclusive and open metaverse, in conjunction with other international standards organizationsWEB, jriordon, The Metaverse Standards Forum,metaverse-standards.org/, 2022-06-29, Metaverse Standards Forum, en-US,

Inactive standards

• OpenML, an API for capturing, transporting, processing, displaying, and synchronizing digital media
• OpenKODE, an API for providing abstracted, portable access to operating system resources such as file systems, networks and math libraries
• OpenKCam, Advanced Camera Control API
• OpenMAX, a layered set of three programming interfaces of various abstraction levels, providing access to multimedia functionality
• OpenSL ES, an audio API tuned for embedded systems, standardizing access to features such as 3D positional audio and MIDI playback
• OpenWF, APIs for 2D graphics composition and display control
• StreamInput, an API for consistently handling input devices
• WebCL, a JavaScript binding to OpenCL within a browser

Members

Membership and contributions

Khronos members may contribute to the development of Khronos API specifications, vote at various stages before public deployment, and accelerate delivery of their platforms and applications through early access to specification drafts and conformance tests. To ensure that the standards are consistently implemented and to create a reliable platform for developers, any product that implements a Khronos API standard must pass conformance tests. An API Adopter Program enables companies to test their products for conformance.WEB, API Adopter Program,www.khronos.org/conformance/adopters, khronos.org, 19 August 2021, Membership in Khronos Group provides access to an IP framework designed to protect participant IP. Khronos members agree not to assert IP rights against adopters implementing Khronos specifications. The IP framework protects Khronos members from exposure to patent lawsuits and reduces the amount of IP that needs to be licensed from other group members.WEB, Khronos Background,www.khronos.org/members/ip-framework, khronos.org, 19 August 2021,

Membership levels

• Promoter: Full working group participation with voting rights, plus the right to designate a Director to the Khronos Board.
• Contributor: Full working group participation with voting rights.
• Non-Profit: Full working group participation. Available to registered non-profit organizations.
• Academic: Full working group participation. Available to accredited academic institutions.
• Associate: Full working group participation. Available to companies with up to 100 employees.

References

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External links

• {{Official website}}
• WEB, Pulli, Kari,research.nokia.com/files/pulli_spie06.pdf, New APIs for Mobile Graphics, October 21, 2007,research.nokia.com/files/pulli_spie06.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20130502171637research.nokia.com/files/pulli_spie06.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20130502171637research.nokia.com/files/pulli_spie06.pdf, May 2, 2013, dead,

{{Khronos Group standards}}{{authority control}}