NVIDIA gives sneak peek of Project Logan, a Kepler based architecture for mobile devices

NVIDIA is planning to show off their forthcoming GPU, Project Logan, at SIGGRAPH this week. Project Logan based on NVIDIA’s Kepler architecture which currently powers desktop and laptop computers. NVIDIA started Project Logan a year ago as part of an effort to unify their graphics architecture across all form factors. Perhaps the biggest challenge for mobile devices was scaling things down to the mobile power envelope of a tablet or smartphone. As the project progressed, NVIDIA also recognized business models were changing and decided to build Project Logan in a way that could be licensed to others. NVIDIA claims the design of Project Logan will consume one-third the power of current leading GPUs while providing at least the same rendering capabilities. By building Project Logan on the Kepler architecture, NVIDIA is able to bring a whole range of new rendering capabilities to mobile devices. Key to this is being able to bring specifications like OpenGL 4.4, OpenGL ES 3.0, or even DirectX 11 support to the mobile platform. NVIDIA says developers will be able to take advantage of some new advanced techniques like: Tessellation – a method of dynamically generating triangles from a users viewpoint instead of trying to pre-generate triangles; Compute-based deferred rendering – a new way to calculate the effects of light which will open the door to more advanced lighting models; Advanced anti-aliasing and post-processing algorithms – which will deliver better image quality while allowing developers to implement their own anti-aliasing filters; Physics and simulations – will enable more detailed calculations of rigid-body dynamics and the simulation of physical behaviors. NVIDIA thinks the release of Project Logan will be a milestone for mobile graphics on par with the introduction of the GeForce 256 gpu for personal computers. Project Logan will blur the lines between mobile devices and non-mobile devices when it comes to graphics capabilities, possibly erasing any differences. NVIDIA claims Project Logan will advance mobile graphics by seven years compared to the current trajectory. Below you can check out a couple videos showcasing the capabilities of Project Logan powered devices: source: NVIDIA