For example, the HMI tool can help determine the minimum number of MIPS needed for graphics and provide guidance about how powerful the GPU should be to run the application.
It’s also helpful if it can give some indication about the internal bus throughputs and external graphics memory bandwidth requirements. The possible number of hardware iterations and valuable project time saved as a result of this would carry immense benefits to the initiative.
CGI Studio
CGI Studio is an HMI tool chain from Fujitsu and is targeted for automotive clusters and infotainment systems. The tool has been specifically designed from the ground up for automotive applications.
The tool chain offers a flexible licensing model covering a variety of usage scenarios, such as tool evaluation, prototyping and reference design, product development for one or more vehicle platforms, etc. As with any tool, it consists of different blocks or modules.
The HMI solution should allow the use of the same tool at all stages of the application development, including by studio artists, technical artists, and embedded engineers. This versatility results in a seamless process flow that brings many benefits to the project, including reduced cost, ease of managing the tool, common knowledge based, and others.
Each individual involved in the project can focus on his or her own role. The studio artist can design the 2D or 3D graphics content in the industry standard studio tools and then use the HMI tool for preview.
The technical artist can import that graphics content into the HMI tool and use the graphics to create scenes using appropriate lighting and composition. Finally, the embedded engineer can add his widgets to the project. This will assign appropriate behavior to graphics elements as required by the application.
Figure 1. Different roles in HMI Development
The tool chain should also support a flexible licensing model that