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Smartphone User Interfaces are getting a lot more complex and some of them are quite impressive. Rightware Oy, an eight-month-old Finland-based graphics software firm, has just released Kanzi User Interface solution to beta. This UI design product creates three-dimensional UIs for mobile, embedded, and automotive displays, and as of the beta, Android devices are now included.
Despite the OpenGL ES graphics API supported by many mobile platforms including Android OS, the development cycle for 3D UIs has always broken down in the back and forth between the designer and the engineering department. The Kanzi system can import 3D designs from graphical creation tools via COLLADA export. (COLLADA is an open standard digital asset schema for interactive 3D applications.) Then using Kanzi tool, the designer can create the UI using their own designs within it. Finally the designer views results in Kanzi runtime on the desktop rather than constantly verifying it on the mobile platform. After designing the User Interface to specifications and testing the result in Kanzi runtime, the designer can export a binary file which should run on the target device. Kanzi eliminates the need for software or firmware developers to write custom code incorporating the designs, and can take weeks off UI development.
An Android-based demo is available by filling out a form on Rightware’s website. The demo supports Android 2.1 and 2.2. The Kanzi runtime platform also supports MeeGo and Symbian (both Nokia operating systems). Rightware’s site has a gallery of UI designs created with the Kanzi system.
Kanzi tool runs on Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7. Minimum requiresments to use Kanzi runtime are:
- Ability to compile C code to platform
- Floating Point Support
- Support for OpenGL ES 2.0 or OpenGL ES 1.x
- ~400KB footprint depending on configuration
Source: TweakTown