Applications Using Accelerated-X™
Accelerated-X is the brand name of Xi Graphics' line of X Window System graphics sub-system software products that have been licensed for use in thousands of computer systems that employ computer graphics. Over the twelve or so years since its introduction, Accelerated-X has earned a reputation as very fast, highly stable, graphics software that is fully compliant with the industry standard for the X Window System that is used on UNIX systems, including Linux. Below are some of the more current applications that show the broad appeal of our premium graphics software.
General Purpose                                                      
Desktop PCs
Many desktop boxes come with an Add-In-Board with graphics chips from ATI, NVIDIA, etc., while some have a graphics chip embedded on the motherboard, such as an Intel chip. Accelerated-X has been used as an upgrade to the performance of the Linux graphics drivers shipped with the Linux distribution pre-installed on the box, or to replace MS Windows graphics drivers when MS is replaced with Linux or Solaris.

Laptops/Notebooks
Another strong market for Accelerated-X graphics products has been the explosion of laptops (notebooks if you prefer) that were not properly supported by free Linux drivers, or by graphics drivers available from Sun for 32-bit Intel based laptops.

Workstations
When the comsumer graphics provided with desktop pc systems is inadequate, often a higer performance computer platform is built with high-end graphics boards that provide hardware acceleration for OpenGL or really fast 2D + video performance. Such systems have been a strong market for the Accelerated-X Summit Series since it was introduced a few years ago.
Wall Displays
Typical Uses
Process control, pipeline monitoring and control, electrical energy distribution, ground transportation, Air Traffic Contol, and advertising applications are typical.

Hardware Used
For systems that need four monitors or less, a single graphics card is usually sufficient. Cards that drive multiple monitors per graphics chip can be used when the displays are to be configured as a "SingleLogicalScreen" with up to four diplays displaying a piece of the single image. Cards with multiple graphics chips each driving multiple monitors are also supported.

Graphics Features of Interest
Wall displays with more than four monitors (we have bid on at least one job that had 28 monitors) will usually need an X server that can handle multiple cards (although Colorgraphic manufacturered a card that can drive eight displays). Some have one or more live video channels that can be placed as overlay windows on the computer generated image layer. Ease of configuring the assest being used in the graphics sub-system is of interest. OpenGL is showing up more often, even for displays that do not use 3D image. OpenGL applications can be more portable to other OSs if all of the graphics is handled by OpenGL, instead of using the X Window System for 2D graphics rendering.
Medical Systems
CT Scanner
A major foreign manufacturer who uses Summit in its CT Scanner product told us "we install your graphics software, and never hear about it again. We like it that way." Stability is one of the features this account considers important.

Portable Implant Scanner
Both the implant and the Scanner Device are portable, with the implant being in the patient ;-). This medical system needed only 2D rendering and a single display, but some fast operational features.

IC/OR Systems with OpenGL
OpenGL has become very popular with UNIX/Linux systems users, and we have several medical systems manufacturers who use it. Some use multiple displays per systems.

Graphics Software Features of Interest
Stable, fast performance on Solaris or Linux, OpenGL, live video input processing, hardware image rotation to "portrait mode," FDA software support, and long-term maintenance options are favorites for this applications sector.

Military Systems
Typical Uses
Xi Graphics has a number of Military and Mil Prime customers, some of whom have used Accelerated-X graphics software for over five years for things such as simulators, shipboard displays, ruggedized vehicle mounted LCD systems with touchscreen, imaging of unmanned airborne vehicles, rugged notebooks,and so on. One of our favorites is the iROBOT cave-crawing vehicle that was first used in Afganistan.

Graphics Software Features of Interest
Some of the Mil systems are at the high end of the performance spectrum including OpenGL, while others are 2D only and require merely reliable operation with a variety of graphics hardware on Solaris and/or Linux (which is making some inroads on Solaris). Some applications use very high resolutions with stereo for who knows what (we aren't cleared to know). Again, long term availablity of the software that can work with the newer OS versions and newer graphics devices is important to this apps sector.
Financial Systems
OpenGL in Trading Displays?
Apparently. One customer indicated that because of limited display real estate, OpenGL 3D displays of data is now being used in some systems because it can tranfer much more information per pixel than 2D displays. Interesting. 		Features of Interest
Besides OpenGL, the typical trading desk system seems to require a bunch of displays running one graphics card. The new cards, such as the Matrox QID Pro cards, and the Colorgraphics Xentera cards seem particularly well suited for such systems. Good, clean display of images and stable operation are also important in this application.
Gaming Products
High-performance OpenGL
With the advent of inexpensive graphics chips that can accelerate OpenGL to incredible levels, arcade computer games evidently have become more realistic and more popular. While not requiring quite high speed texturing of the computer games, OpenGL slot machines seem to be an idea that has arrived. 		Features of Interest
Arcade games require not only cutting edge performance, they are required to be stable in order to keep the income stream flowing. Casino gaming machines have other requirements, such as regulatory software controls, but again stable operation is very important. A crisp, clean, error free image is required if the intent is to give the impression that the machine is actually using the wheels.
Land/Sea Navigation
Steering Tractors with OpenGL?
Yes. Plowing has entered the GPS age, evidently. Maybe it keeps one farmer out of another farmers fields, or provides the ability to make long precise curves. We don't use the systems,only provide the OpenGL graphics software thatis used in the system. But apparently there are a lot of farmers steering by satellite, judging by the number of licenses we sell for this application ;-). 		On Land or Water
It was natural to expect that if you can steer tractors using GPS and OpenGL displays, one can navigate boats/ships over maps of the lake/ocean bottoms. Quite interesting usage of our Summit OpenGL graphics software if first you have those bottom maps. Apparently they exist ;-).
Air Traffic Control
Big Displays, Lots of Layers
Xi Graphics has provided this application sector specialized software on Linux and UNIX systems. One characteristic of the applicaion is the use of very large (and very expensive) displays, including very large LCD panels that are now replacing the Sony DDM workhorse CRT. Systems now have not only the 2Kx2K "main" display, but one or more "auxillary" displays on a "seat." Needless to say, this amount of display real estate requires some strong graphics hardware, and some graphics software that can handle it reliably. Especially reliability, since the mission is a bit on the safety critical side.		 Summit in Use in ATC
Besides the display real estate and image layers required, some systems require Record/Playback capabilities so that a true reproduction of events can be created if needed. Xi Grapics supports a number of graphics cards in this applicaton sector and its software is in use in a number of countries. Linux has become an OS of choice for many user agencies in this sector, but existing workstation computers running HP/UX, SPARC, or True64 are still being upgraded with new graphics cards and graphics software.
Instrumentation/Test Systems
Testing Auto or Jet Engines?
Big, bright displays that can be seen from a distance as well as used on a desk are a requirement of some of these systems. Some need live video input superimposed over computer generated images, and the ability to move multiple video windows around over the images. 		Features of Interest
OpenGL is sometimes used even for 2D displays because of the increased portability of OpenGL compared to using the X Window System 2D rendering capabilities. Multiple displays, and in some cases, multiple graphics cards are used. In all cases, trouble free installation, configuration and operation is required "out-of-the-box."
Engineering Design
Autos to Semiconductors
CAD software used in the design of automobile parts and semiconductors often use an 8-bit image overlay for popup menus that do not disturb the rendered main (24-bit) image. While the immense increase in speed of graphics devices and large on-board graphics memory has reduced the need for image overlay planes support in hardware, some applications still require it for decent performance. 		Use of Thin Clients Increase
One of Xi Graphics OEM customers provides a software management product that integrates all of the applications, licensing, update controls and so on, in a central system that supports hundreds of thin clients. Sounds pretty cool, except no Googling is allowed ;-).
                         Research
Looking at Molecules
Universities and Medical research labs employ Summit graphics software and molecular modeling applications to design molecules for interesting things. By using OpenGL and stereo glasses, evidently the researchers can do on ecomomical boxes with a high-end graphics card, what earlier had required a very expensive SGI computer. Xi Graphics is proud to count a large number of Universities and Medical Research labs as valued customers. 		Visual Immersion
By ganging multiple computers together synchronously - each with a high-end graphic card - researchers are able to use them to create the VI effect on inexpensive computer systems. Xi Graphics Summit graphics software was the first to support Linux for these systems.
Page updated March, 2005