Other industries based on advanced, high-performance graphics that must be portable across different platforms have evolved better methods for tackling their HMI and graphic rendering requirements. Video games almost exclusively rely on model-based development techniques for specifying and rendering graphics. A set of standard model formats, such as those output from 3D modeling tools including 3D Studio Max and Maya, are available as the medium of exchange between the modeling tool and the runtime software. Graphical objects are never represented by handwritten code, but rather as a database conforming to a model specification. A software platform, typically referred to as a game engine, is written to ingest and present the models in real time on the target system. Game engines also support scripted models to allow non-programmers to create a large percentage of the visual content. Without using code generators, game engines support high-performance graphical content on resource-constrained embedded systems, such as cell phones. Because games share many of the same requirements as high-performance embedded systems, it is worthwhile to consider their development paradigm for embedded systems.

Model-Based Development

Figure 3. HMI Specification Language (HSL) design.