Candera significantly improves CGI Studio on all levels
After the successful release of CGI Studio 3.9, Candera has further improved several features in their new version CGI Studio 3.10. In the spotlight is the now established “Smart AI-based graphics Importer”, which automatically transforms graphics into fully functional HMIs. The “Smart Importer” now also permits direct import from PSD, Sketch, or Axure RP. More highlights of CGI Studio 3.10 are the Japanese user interface, in addition to English, enhanced samples and tutorials for easy onboarding, and “Candera LINK” for remote services. All of which will help especially designers to save precious time and costs.
Designers and graphic artists are playing a crucial role in HMI development. They need to deliver quick results, implement many design iterations and create fully functional HMIs. With our focus on advanced usability features like ready-to-use HMI controls, automated workflows and integrated state machines, Candera makes HMI creation for users without coding skills easy. “With CGI Studio 3.10 we take another large step forward,” says Reinhard Füricht, CEO of Candera. “By further simplifying the composition process it is now even easier for designers to intuitively follow their creativity and get great HMI solutions in the process. Moreover, the Smart Importer allows to facilitate and speed up the HMI development process and so reduces costs. This enables a faster time to market and also creates space for creativity.”
Candera Smart Importer with extended functionality
Users of CGI Studio 3.9 have gotten to know first features of Candera’s Smart Photoshop Importer in a preview, now CGI Studio 3.10 includes the Smart Importer with extended functionality.
Based on innovative AI detection algorithm technologies, Candera’s Smart Importer has one major goal: to speed up the whole HMI creation process. Indeed, whilst other HMI design tools oblige the user to manually add functionality to each single element of their UI artwork, Candera’s Smart Importer will handle this job automatically. It imports from Photoshop, Sketch or Axure RP files into CGI Studio and can be extended in the future for additional graphic or prototyping tools. Moreover, the Smart Importer detects relevant components like gauges, sliders, buttons and many more and adds the most probable functionality to each of these elements. Candera’s Smart Importer now supports a direct preview, a control mapping and control configuration, a full re-import for quickly importing design iterations, image merging to reduce the memory footprint and even allows the creation of state machines to support several scenes. For using the Smart Importer no programming skills are needed.
Figure 1: Axure RP is directly supported by Candera’s Smart Importer.
Scene Composer – now also in Japanese
Candera’s multilingual user-interface “Scene Composer” is now available in English and Japanese. To make sure every user gets on board quickly and can use the full potential of CGI Studio 3.10, the Candera team has enhanced samples and tutorials.
There is now for example a new “Quick Start Guide” for CGI Studio 3.10 for quick user onboarding, using an instrument cluster sample:
New Menu Control
In CGI Studio 3.10’s updated Menu Control a new menu list control was added allowing users to create menus for their HMI application. It lets the users easily create unique menus that fit their individual project or adopt it to their own requirements. All in Candera’s aim of speeding up the HMI creation process and saving time and resources.
Enhanced Candera LINK remote services
“Candera LINK” makes sharing content across process and operating system boundaries easy. It enables for example remote rendering, so that less powerful platforms can be used by streaming high end graphics to them. Candera’s remote service also allows platform independent data and service to be shared by multiple clients (for example in In Vehicle Infotainment, Cluster, AR Head up Display, or smartphones). Candera LINK simplifies holistic HMI via a domain computing architecture and, functioning as a One-System-on-Chip-Hub, connecting clients’ devises to clouds or remote services (for example smart assistants, Internet of Things devises etc.). Since it is not necessary to place a powerful SoC on each client, it enables to reduce costs and resources. If multiple suitable services are registered, the Candera LINK Hub will always make sure that the client receives the “closest” and fastest service.
Candera LINK is the flexible transport channel to exchange any kind of data – in even the most heterogeneous software environment.
Monotype Spark Engine
CGI Studio 3.10 now also supports Monotype Spark Engine, an alternative to iType in resource-constrained environments. It is designed for embedded application with low memory and low CPU speed. Monotype Spark Engine is the 4th supported CGI Studio text engine, following Monotype iType, Freetype, and Bitmap Font.
Extended target hardware support e.g. for Infineon Traveo II
Candera has been accredited as first certified partner within Infineon’s HMI Tool Certification Program. In a years-long cooperation, both companies worked on creating the perfect HMI solutions for the TRAVEO-series, starting with the reference board Amber S6J3200 up to TRAVEO II Graphic MCUs (CYT4DNxxx).
In Infineon’s latest HMI Tool Certification Program, Candera successfully implement the defined requirements: setting up a full virtual animated dashboard as well as a warped dual Head up Display using CGI Studio and the TVII-C CPU boards, while leveraging all the HW features that the GPU offers.
CGI Studio 3.10 now provides extended target hardware support for Wayland Device Package for NXP iMX8 as well as STMicroelectronics STM32.
Performance Improvements
All of the above listed improvements for CGI Studio 3.10 were made possible by performance improvements, one example being the enhanced moving and zooming options of the state machine in the refined Scene Composer.
To learn more about CGI Studio 3.10 or request a 30days trial version please visit: www.cgistudio.at
About Candera
Candera, is a leading HMI tool provider and development partner for worldwide automotive and industrial customers. It supports its customers with the CGI Studio tool environment as well as provision of software services mainly in the areas of HMI development and embedded software. Candera GmbH in Linz/ Austria and Candera Japan Inc. in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo / Japan are both part of the ArtSpark Group situated in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo / Japan.