Section: Software

Elkano

Participants : Joachim Pouderoux [ correspondant ] , Mariam Amyra, Fabrice Decle, Mickael Raynaud, Xavier Granier.

Web: http://iparla.labri.fr/software/elkano/

Elkano is a scenegraph oriented real-time 3D framework which is used to develop 3D applications, rendering and interaction techniques. Elkano is a cross platform C++ library and a set of client/server applications for Linux, Win32 and Windows Mobile. Elkano is fully scriptable through the Lua scripting language. It also provides schemes for remote visualization of large 3D virtual environments and tools to design adaptive and progressive nodes. The applications designed with Elkano are made to work on such heterogeneous platforms from a handheld device in a mobility context to a cluster of PCs in a virtual reality center.

Figure 2. Real-time visualization of the underground water network of Bordeaux. An Elkano-based application developed for the ANR RaxEnv project.

Through the VRML97, X3D, Ogre scene formats, one can easily develop new optimized nodes with streaming capabilities to get the best performance on heterogeneous platforms. We also developed modules to support multi-screen rendering through a homogeneous cluster of devices (PCs or MCDs), OpenGL shaders and streamed level of details of lines in the context of NPR rendering. Geo-referenced models (like earth terrains) are supported. Objects animation, physical engine, light sources management, shadows and GPU buffer objects support were recently introduced.

Elkano is used in many work and projects of Iparla: NatSim, RaxEnv, Partage, Dahlia, etc.