SonoPlot

Back in 2010, I gave a talk about the use of OpenGL shaders to accelerate image and video processing on mobile devices. The response from that talk was strong enough that two years later I started work on the open source framework GPUImage with the goal of making this kind of processing more accessible to developers. In an attempt to broaden the reach of this framework, today I'm introducing the completely-rewritten-in-Swift GPUImage 2 with support for Mac, iOS, and now Linux. This isn't just a port, it's a complete rewrite of the framework.

Read on for how GPUImage 2 differs from the previous iteration, and why I rebuilt it from scratch.

At the beginning of this year we started a complete rewrite of our robotics software from Objective-C to Swift, for reasons described here. That rewrite was concluded two months ago, passed testing a month ago, and has been deployed to all of our customers. As a result, I wanted to do a final analysis of the rewrite and what we learned from it.

Read on for the results from this rewrite in Swift.

At SonoPlot, we just undertook a full rewrite of our robotic control software from Objective-C to Swift. While at first it might appear crazy to rework a large, stable project in a brand-new language, we did so after carefully examining sources of bugs in our Objective-C application and determining that Swift would prevent a large percentage of them. While we've only just started, we've learned enough so far that I thought there would be value in sharing this.

Read on for more about what led us to rewrite this application, and what we observed when doing so.

I've been invited to give a talk at the SecondConf developer conference in Chicago, and I'm writing this to accompany it. I'll be talking about using the GPU to accelerate processing of video on Mac and iOS. The slides for this talk are available here. The source code samples used in this talk will be linked throughout this article. Additionally, I'll refer to the course I teach on advanced iPhone development, which can be found on iTunes U here.

Read on for more on using the GPU to accelerate processing of video.

I'll be on the road once again to present SonoPlot's products next week at the Nanotech 2009 conference in Houston, TX. I'll be in booth 135 on Tuesday, May 5 and Wednesday, May 6. As always, If you are at the show, please stop by and say hello.

This looks to be a particularly interesting conference, judging from the program tracks.

I'm going to be on the road once again, this time for the 2009 MRS Spring Meeting in San Francisco at Moscone West. As usual, I will be showing off SonoPlot's robotic fluid printing equipment in booth #218 from Tuesday, April 14 through Thursday, April 16.

If anyone is interested in getting together at the show, let me know and I can get you in. Otherwise, I'll be available after the show closes each day.

I'm going to be exhibiting SonoPlot's products at Pittcon next week in lovely Chicago, IL. Pittcon is one of the largest scientific equipment shows in the U.S. I'll be manning our booth (#762) from Monday (March 9) through Thursday (March 12).

As always, you're more than welcome to stop by and chat. During the quiet periods of these shows, it's just me and our robot, and it doesn't say much. Unfortunately, I believe they do charge for entry to this show on every day but Thursday.

Once again, I'll be exhibiting SonoPlot's microscale fluid printing systems at an upcoming conference. This time, I'll be at LabAutomation 2009 in Palm Springs, CA. We actually won our exhibit space in the Innovation AveNEW area of the show because we were seen as having interesting new technology. If you're at the show (from January 25 - 27), stop by booth #593A and say hi.

Unfortunately, this means that I might not be the most responsive next week. I'll be warmer than I would be in Wisconsin, though.

I apologize for going a little quiet both here and on Twitter for the last couple of weeks. I've been preparing for the Printed Electronics USA 2008 conference, where I'll be exhibiting SonoPlot's Microplotter robots in booth 25. If you happen to be in San Jose at the show today, please stop by and say hello.

I'm going to be heading out to San Francisco tomorrow to host SonoPlot's exhibit at SEMICON West 2008. SEMICON West is a giant semiconductor trade show and I'll be there demonstrating SonoPlot's technologies for printing electronics. If you are attending the show, please swing by our booth (8906) in Moscone West on the second floor and say hello.

Unfortunately, this means that I'll not be in very good communication over the next week. I'll try to respond to emails as best I can and check in on the forums at least daily.