OpenGL ES 2.0 for Parallella with RPi

[shodruk]

Because I want to use 3D graphics with Parallella, I wrote a small framework that enables Parallella to use OpenGL ES 2.0.

source code
https://github.com/shodruky-rhyammer/gl-streaming

demo video
http://youtu.be/6S-Epb6m6mI

It streams OpenGL commands from Parallella to Raspberry Pi over network, and render 3D graphics on RPi.
Although Parallella does not have a GPU, it can use full OpenGL ES 2.0 with this framework.

gl-streaming summary

gl-streaming_small.png (124.23 KiB) Viewed 80499 times

Because RPi only costs $35, it could be considered as a cheap graphics add-on board for Parallella
I think it also could be a breakout board, so I will try it next time.

Because I don't have Parallella yet, this demo was captured with x86 PC(client) and Raspberry Pi(rendering server).
Will someone please try this program on early Parallella board?

[Gravis]

ok with all the talk about GPUs and whatnot, i really want to know, why not use the epiphany for GPU operations?!

seriously, it can do the math. if you want assistance manipulating the framebuffer, you could employ some fpga logic. completely ignoring the epiphany's floating point processing capabilities is practically criminal.

[shodruk]

[LamsonNguyen]

Nice job, enable OpenGL compatibility and the desktop gamers will come.

[shodruk]

[over9000]

This is very nice
I have a couple of thoughts. The first is about using this to drive a display wall, with one Pi per screen. I wonder how hard it would be to run multiple OpenGL client instances, each with a different viewport. I'm sure bandwidth could be an issue, though I'd say that could be overcome with the appropriate router hardware (Parallella's 1Gb net should be able to feed 4 Pis each on their own 100Mb network segment, though the routers will also introduce latencies).
The second thought is about complex scenes (like in 3d games or apps with high poly count). I don't see any texture caching in the code, but it seems like it should be doable within the OpenGL pipeline.
It's nice to see that I can actually compile the client on my regular desktop machine, too, since I don't have a Parallella board yet. When I have access to my Pi later, I'll try compiling that side and see what happens.
One last thing... maybe you should let the RPi guys know about this. I'm sure they'd love to see this in operation.

[shodruk]

[LamsonNguyen]

[shodruk]

[shodruk]

Hi, I just uploaded a texture mapping demo video of gl-streaming.
(Caution: weird video.... )