The Khronos Group, Inc. is an open, non-profit, member-driven consortium of 170 organizations developing, publishing and maintaining royalty-free interoperability standards for 3D graphics, virtual reality, augmented reality, parallel computation, vision acceleration and machine learning.[1][2] The open standards and associated conformance tests enable software applications and middleware to effectively harness authoring and accelerated playback of dynamic media across a wide variety of platforms and devices. The group is based in Beaverton, Oregon.[3]
Typically, Khronos first creates an exploratory group to gauge industry interest before creating a working group, which companies can join as members to assist in the development of the standard.[7]
Each specification / standard is managed by a working group which is established to define the requirements, solicit input, discuss, and create a specification.[1] There are currently 16 working groups.[8]
Standards and other activities
Active standards
3D Commerce, universal guidelines, standards and certifications for 3D content creation and distribution in e-commerce[9][10]
ANARI, Analytic Rendering Interface for Data Visualization
Camera, working on interoperable camera API standards for embedded systems, a cooperation with the European Machine Vision Association (EMVA)[11]
COLLADA, a file-format intended to facilitate interchange of 3D assets
EGL, an interface between Khronos rendering APIs (such as OpenGL ES or OpenVG) and the underlying native platform window system[12]
glTF, a file format specification for 3D scenes and models[13]
KTX, a container file format for storing GPU-ready texture data[14]
NNEF reduces machine learning deployment fragmentation by enabling a rich mix of neural network training tools and inference engines to be used by applications across a diverse range of devices and platforms[15]
Vulkan SC, based on the existing Vulkan API specification to enable safety critical industries
WebGL, a JavaScript binding to OpenGL ES within a browser on any platform supporting the OpenGL or OpenGL ES graphics standards
A timeline of API Specification ratification and releases can be found on the Khronos Group website.[22]
Exploratory Groups
HetComm Exploratory, working on a new low level API to facilitate communication between hardware components in heterogenous systems[23]
ML | Machine Learning Forum, standards on machine learning[24]
SYCL, a single-source C++ DSEL for heterogeneous computing[25] (already a standard)
Other activities
Member of the Metaverse Standards Forum, working on development of interoperability standards for an inclusive and open metaverse, in conjunction with other international standards organizations[26]
Inactive standards
OpenML, an API for capturing, transporting, processing, displaying, and synchronizing digital media
OpenKODE, an API for providing abstracted, portable access to operating system resources such as file systems, networks and math libraries
OpenKCam, Advanced Camera Control API
OpenMAX, a layered set of three programming interfaces of various abstraction levels, providing access to multimedia functionality
OpenSL ES, an audio API tuned for embedded systems, standardizing access to features such as 3D positional audio and MIDI playback
OpenWF, APIs for 2D graphics composition and display control
StreamInput, an API for consistently handling input devices
Khronos members may contribute to the development of Khronos API specifications, vote at various stages before public deployment, and accelerate delivery of their platforms and applications through early access to specification drafts and conformance tests.[1] To ensure that the standards are consistently implemented and to create a reliable platform for developers, any product that implements a Khronos API standard must pass conformance tests. An API Adopter Program enables companies to test their products for conformance.[27] Membership in Khronos Group provides access to an IP framework designed to protect participant IP. Khronos members agree not to assert IP rights against adopters implementing Khronos specifications. The IP framework protects Khronos members from exposure to patent lawsuits and reduces the amount of IP that needs to be licensed from other group members.[28]
Membership levels
Promoter: Full working group participation with voting rights, plus the right to designate a Director to the Khronos Board.
Contributor: Full working group participation with voting rights.
Non-Profit: Full working group participation. Available to registered non-profit organizations.
Academic: Full working group participation. Available to accredited academic institutions.
Associate: Full working group participation. Available to companies with up to 100 employees.
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