Khronos just returned from a dynamic and productive week at SIGGRAPH Asia 2024, which took place from December 3–6 in the bustling city of Tokyo, Japan. This annual gathering of some of the world’s most innovative minds in graphics, XR, and emerging spatial computing technologies provided the perfect backdrop for the Khronos Group to showcase its leadership in shaping the future of 3D graphics and immersive experiences. With key announcements, a series of well-attended Birds of a Feather (BOF) sessions, and a vibrant networking event, Khronos reaffirmed its position at the forefront of standardization for the 3D industry.

Here are some highlights of Khronos’s activities at SIGGRAPH Asia 2024, from unveiling new initiatives to fostering collaboration across the graphics, web, and XR ecosystems.

Khronos News at SIGGRAPH Asia

Ahead of the event, Khronos unveiled two significant updates:

1. Slang shading language and compiler: In the weeks before the show, Khronos launched the Slang initiative, transitioning this open-source shading language and compiler from NVIDIA into a Khronos-hosted project. This effort promises to enhance shader portability, functionality, and productivity across multiple platforms and APIs and opens the door to the future of neural graphics.Read the announcement.
2. Vulkan 1.4 Release: At the show, Khronos also introduced Vulkan 1.4, the latest iteration of its industry-standard GPU acceleration API. This release streamlines the development of GPU-accelerated applications for real-time 3D graphics and computation by integrating and mandating support for many proven features into its core specification. Read the announcement.

Birds of a Feather Sessions at SIGGRAPH

Khronos hosted a series of well-attended BOF sessions throughout the week, showcasing the latest advancements in 3D graphics, XR, and open standards:

• Khronos Fast Forward: This session offered an overview of Khronos standards, including updates on ANARI, glTF, Vulkan, OpenXR, and the newly launched Slang initiative. Presentations from Khronos Working Group leaders highlighted the consortium’s vision for innovative applications using 3D graphics and XR.
• Slang and the 3D Shading Language Landscape: This session focused on the Slang shading language and explored its integration with existing tools and platforms. The presenters discussed how Slang enables shader portability and productivity for applications spanning PCs, the cloud, and mobile platforms.
• Forging the Immersive Web: This BOF, held in collaboration with the W3C, featured updates on glTF, with Atsushi Shimono of W3C updating on WebXR and the W3C Immersive Web working group, along with Gregg Tavares and Ricardo Cabello from Google who provided the latest updates and demonstrations of WebGPU and Three.js. Julien Guertault and Frederic Servant, representing OpenPBR, highlighted the future of advanced materials and how they will evolve in the immersive web.
• OpenXR: Transforming Cross-Platform XR Development: Attendees learned about the growing adoption of OpenXR and its transformative role in XR development, with discussions on compositing multiple spatial computing applications and the secure use of cameras for advanced immersive applications.
• Vulkan: Forging Ahead: This session provided an in-depth look at the Vulkan ecosystem, with updates on Vulkan SC (Safety Critical), GPU-driven rendering, and tools like the Vulkan SDK. It also discussed the role of Slang in enhancing Vulkan development.
• glTF: Revolutionizing 3D Content Delivery: The final BOF showcased how the glTF roadmap advancements in physics, PBR, and asset sharing drive innovation in 3D content delivery. The VRM Consortium discussed how the popular VRM avatar format is leveraging glTF, and Huawei discussed integrating Gaussian splats into the glTF asset format definition.

Khronos Community Networking Event

The week concluded with a Khronos Community Networking Event on December 6 at The Executive Centre in Tokyo. Attendees engaged in thought-provoking discussions on the roadmaps for Vulkan, glTF, OpenXR, and Slang. The evening featured presentations from Khronos President Neil Trevett and Working Group Chairs, followed by a networking reception with dinner and drinks.

This event deepened connections between members of the Khronos ecosystem and the local graphics community and sparked opportunities for collaboration among attendees from the 3D graphics and XR industries.

A Look Ahead

Our activities at SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 underscored our commitment to driving innovation and collaboration in and open standards for 3D graphics and XR. With its important announcements and well-received sessions, Khronos continues to shape the future of immersive technologies and spatial computing.

For those who missed the event, the Khronos event page has all session details, as well as freely accessible presentations and video recordings.

Next up, Khronos will head to Vulkanised 2025 February 11-13, 2025, in Cambridge, UK, for the largest event dedicated to developers using the Vulkan API. The agenda is now online and will feature talks across a wide variety of Vulkan-related topics. Find out more and register at https://vulkan.org/events/vulkanised-2025.