See 9-Slice Object in Action

Posted on September 7, 2021September 9, 2021 by Cheryl Falk

Altia Design now includes the 9-Slice Object—a part of the Altia Design model library. The 9-Slice Object allows for smart scaling of GUI elements, preserving the integrity of images when resized.

The 9-Slice Object is a big timesaver. Designers can create graphics with 9-slice behavior in just seconds. Plus, by they only need to create a single graphic for a resizable widget. Since there are fewer images that need to be updated when changes are needed, designers also save time on changes. They also save memory, since fewer images in the GUI model means less memory consumed on hardware.

Developers can apply this new feature to GUI elements like buttons, sliders, scroll bars, text inputs, progress bars and background graphics.

Check out 9-Slice Object in action in this Altia Design feature video.

Interested in upgrading to the latest release of Altia Design, which includes 9-Slice Object and many more powerful features? Contact your local FAE or email [email protected].

Design Techniques for Optimizing Graphical User Interfaces for Embedded Devices

Posted on August 9, 2021August 9, 2021 by Logan Maples

Designing high-quality graphical user interfaces (GUI) for devices with hardware constraints can be difficult. But this article demonstrates some ways to maximize design efficiency to make it easier. More efficient GUIs use less memory, CPU and GPU power when handling moving parts and animation, and allow the designer more room to be creative with their designs, instead of worrying about their hardware constraints.

Design with common elements

The example below shows a simple menu screen with some common elements:

Each ICON_X is a button that would change the GUI to a different colored screen.
The HOME button returns the GUI to the home screen.
The HOURS:MINUTES:SECONDS element remains in the upper right corner for all screens.
The ICON_X buttons and HOME button remain in the same location regardless of which ICON_X buttons selected.

If a GUI developer were to design a menu layout by copying and pasting the “TimeAndIconBanner” element (the top bar displaying HOURS:MINUTES:SECONDS, and the bottom bar displaying the Icon Buttons) for each of the screens in this GUI, the result is several duplicate objects in the GUI model. In the image below, each Card in the Deck Object that makes up the “IconScreens” contains the same TimeAndIconBanner element.

The TimeAndIconBanner element is a part of each individual screen under IconScreens, and the multiple instances of TimeAndIconBanner require a redraw of that element every time the screen is changed, resulting in unnecessary RAM and CPU usage.

To optimize this design and others like it, designers should isolate the common elements, TimeAndIconBanner in this case, and move them to a single instance one level up, as shown below.

Only one TimeAndIconBanner element now lives at the same level as IconScreens. This hierarchy illustrates the most efficient arrangement of design components, resulting in a corresponding change in the z-order of these groups within Altia Design, meaning that the highest level TimeAndIconBanner group is shown above the lower IconScreens group on the display.

Design with moving parts

Consider an animated speedometer. If the GUI is designed such that the entire screen is redrawn, instead of just the needle, more memory will be required for this GUI. Maintaining the static background image and animating only the needle on top creates the most efficient and memory-saving design. Another place to squeeze out some extra performance can be in reducing your fps. Some animations may not require the hardware’s maximum frame rate to achieve a satisfactory smoothness, and with Altia Design its simple to experiment and find a lower fps that works in your design.

If you would like to learn more about how Altia can help you optimize your GUIs to deliver the best performance using the least memory and power, we invite you to schedule a demo with a member of our expert GUI team today.

Types of User Interfaces: Modern UI Design

Posted on August 3, 2021October 11, 2021 by Altia

As humans, we spend most of our day interacting with user interfaces (UIs). The primary interface we use on a daily basis, maybe more like every few minutes: our phones. Smart phones and their touchscreen interfaces have informed the way we expect other devices to work. We have a new set of default expectations and it’s easy to be disappointed if the UI is not easy to use.

In a past blog post, Exploring the UI Universe: Different Types of UI, we defined UI and identified four common types of user interfaces. While that content remains true, new technology comes with new categories and considerations. In this article, we’re going to share updated types of UI that fall under the umbrellas of graphical user interfaces (GUIs), physical user interfaces and hybrid models.

Our end-users expect UIs to be intuitive and efficient. As engineers or designers, our UI needs to work for the end-user, no matter the device. When we are designing user interfaces, we also need to design for user experience (UX). UI informs UX and in turn, UX informs UI. We want the user to actually enjoy using the product. Not only does the UI need to look good, but the interaction needs to make the end-user feel productive and successful.

Touch UI

Touch screens have overtaken thousands, if not millions of products and UIs at this point. However, the UX has become essential for these user interfaces. For nurses and medical professionals, touch screens have started to replace buttons and knobs.

Most ventilator user interfaces are now constructed with touch screens, with highly thought-out and rigorously tested safety modes. For example, placing critical buttons on the bottom of the screen for quick accessibility, asking twice to confirm a command or requiring the user to hold down a button on the screen to execute that command.

Not only are the actual touch screen buttons important, but colors are even more critical in medical situations. Nurses and doctors need to quickly look at a medical device screen and recognize what is going on based on color. Blood pressure is red, oxygen saturation is blue and when a patient takes a breath, it displays in green. These screens need to be able to convey important information at a glance so the user can react quickly by pressing the correct command.

Focus-based UI

When we think of focus-based UIs, a computer screen typically comes to mind. The user will use a mouse or cursor to interact with the product and its screen. The cursor shows the user the current position for the user interaction, allowing for the user to make an action and the device will respond from that input.

No matter the device, the cursor or pointer need to be large enough to be seen—no squinting required. It also needs to contrast the background on the various screens so it doesn’t get lost to the naked eye. What we’re seeing more and more with focus-based interfaces is a hybrid of a cursor with touch, so that the user can user their finger to move the cursor or pointer.

2D and 3D UIs

In the 2D world of a digital display, 3D user interfaces add additional context and detail. For example, in a high-end automotive cluster, the 3D status car will inform the driver about which tire has low pressure or which door is still open, truly optimizing ease and efficiency. Altia allows developers to integrate 2D and 3D graphics for custom embedded displays.

For the medical industry, while ultrasounds are still in 2D, a 3D view of a patient will inform a doctor where to place sensors or see an organ from a different vantage point. Cardiovascular surgeons can utilize 3D technology not only to build 3D hearts, but to also see internal views of the heart and potential defects—ultimately saving lives with the addition of a visual UI advancement.

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

We are seeing augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology rapidly evolve and become mainstream out of necessity, especially in educational settings and healthcare. While these terms are super trendy and usually grouped together, it’s important to know how AR and VR are different. AR enhances what you see in real life with additional information and graphics while VR creates a different digital environment that completely replaces what the user is seeing as their ‘real-world’.

Healthcare is going to become more visual, and GUIs will make that happen. From learning situations to life-saving surgeries, AR and VR can be implemented to elevate the experience.

Surgeries are already happening laparoscopically with the doctor sitting at a desk with a screen—AR would enhance not only the UX, but also the visibility. All the while, medical devices need to be safe, accurate and easy to use in critical situations. Not only will AR/VR be valuable for medical devices, they will also be critical in head-up displays in cars, trucks, SUVs and even off-highway vehicles.

Voice UI

Voice interfaces allow the user to interact with a product through speech or verbal commands. “Hey Siri” and “Hey Alexa” have become well-known phrases for most people, even if they don’t own one of these virtual assistants. Rattling off a grocery list, requesting a new song, asking for reminders—all user interactions based on voice and executed when the need is top of mind.

Most commonly, we see voice interfaces as both graphical and physical UIs due to the common use of a teleprompter UI to give the user feedback and prompts. A voice interface is a true result of UX/UI design because it needs to hear and understand the voice command then complete the action. We’re seeing voice UX more than ever before and there’s no stopping now.

Haptics and Ultrahaptics

Haptics are technologies that create an experience that the user can physically feel by engaging the sense of touch—think buzzing or vibration when you enter your password incorrectly or your fingerprint doesn’t land just right to unlock your device. Haptics provide the user with a clear sense of success or failure during the interaction.

For the automotive industry, haptics can allow for increased engagement with the vehicle without sacrificing safety. If the driver can feel a notification and react quickly (even with voice or gestures), rather than look away from the road, everyone is safer all around. Haptics will allow your user to engage with your product in a way they can feel, rather than see.

Ultrahaptics allows for interactions with objects mid-air using ultrasound that reflects air pressure waves off a user’s hand. Products with ultrahaptic UIs create the illusion that end-users are actually feeling objects mid-air and allowing them to interact with an object on a screen.

Hybrid models

What you’ll start seeing more and more are hybrid user interface that including a combination of modalities and interactions. While voice can work when a user is alone and somewhere quiet, gesture or touch interfaces are more convenient and less intrusive in a public setting. Moreover, on a construction site, the user may not be able to utilize voice, but they can touch a screen to flip through the digital construction blueprints. For the medical industry, if a medical professional is wearing gloves, gesture-based or voice user interfaces can be a better option.

Not only can graphical interfaces be easy to use and intuitive, but these types of interfaces—especially touch and haptic UIs—are also what end-user expect. Hybrid UIs that include touch and 3D features can be product differentiators that can not only impress your end-user, but ultimately facilitate an incredible user experience.

Conclusion

Ultimately, you want to strike a balance between innovation and function. While the idea of flashy and highly detailed graphics on your UI sound great in a brainstorm session, sometimes the simpler, the better. You want to design a user interface that allows an end-user to intuitively get the job done, whether that’s conducting a complicated medical procedure or starting a washing machine.

The future of UI is incredibly exciting. Innovations that turn common surfaces, like an automotive armrest into a UI control are currently in the works. Technologies like conductive thread, mechatronics and smart materials will allow companies developing UIs to create futuristic user experiences.

With Altia’s model-based development approach, you gain the power to create a custom user interface model in Altia Design, our GUI editor. These models enable clear communication, fast feedback and iterations for your UI design. Altia’s software allows for testing with users in real-life use cases throughout your development process—both in a runtime environment and on test hardware—to ensure that your UI’s UX meets your end-users’ expectations for performance, features and ease of use. Once your GUI is perfected, Altia DeepScreen generates optimized, certifiable C code for your production hardware so that you get your best UX from concept to production quickly, efficiently and successfully.

From graphic design optimized for UX to prototypes and testing, we can do it all. Contact us for a free demo today!

Why Altia

Altia Design, The Best GUI Editor Software

Runs on Linux

Turn your artists’ artwork into completely custom user interfaces. Your artists work in any tool they choose—Photoshop to Illustrator to Maya and beyond. Altia Design turns those gorgeous graphics into functional prototypes for testing and prepares them for the deployable code you need for your production program.

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What Does Altia Do?

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Altia Design features:

Build high performance, professional-looking GUIs without hand coding graphics
Describe animation, stimulus and behavior without programming
Design with 2D and 3D integrated content
Connect application code or simulations for a complete, fully integrated GUI model
Share runtime model before code generation for quick validation and UX testing
Implement feedback with fast iterations to improve user experience
Prepare user interface for DeepScreen’s powerful code generation hardware

Get to Production with Altia Design for Linux

Altia DeepScreen

Altia’s carefully-architected DeepScreen code generator delivers HMI code with the best performance and smallest footprint. DeepScreen quickly converts models and prototypes into deployable graphics code. Code is small, efficient and fine-tuned for your target operating system. Generate code for commercial and custom RTOS or even no RTOS at all. Shave months (or even years) off your schedule.

Altia Design

Altia Design is a full-feature user interface design, simulation and model integration environment. Build high-fidelity, functionally complete prototypes and GUIs. Create accurate simulation models to test your code, algorithms, concepts and systems. Integrate models with third-party tools or your own application code.

Altia Engineering Services

Altia’s expert Engineering Services team can develop and deploy your production GUI. Altia’s services team has worked with companies in automotive, medical, consumer, industrial and IoT to make complicated GUI projects streamlined and successful. We can lead, coordinate, advise and support the development and productization of high performance, platform-optimized user interfaces.

Optimizing GUIs for Embedded Devices: Font Design Techniques

Posted on June 15, 2021June 15, 2021 by Logan Maples

Unlike a PC or a tablet, most embedded devices have limited memory space to store graphics content. These hardware constraints make designing a high-quality graphical user interface (GUI) a challenging task for designers. In this Altia Developer Blog Series article, we’ll provide some design techniques and sample designs created with Altia Design, our GUI editor, to demonstrate how to build efficient font usage into your embedded device GUIs.

Methods of handling fonts

Altia handles fonts in two different ways. With the first method, font glyphs can be generated and saved in a reflash file at the time of code generation. With the second method, you can generate code with runtime fonts which will generate font glyphs as they are needed during runtime.

First, we will talk about the simpler option of generating all font glyphs needed in the design at code generation. These generated font characters are also called pre-rendered glyphs. Every font used in your design requires that its full catalog of characters is added to reflash assets. Additionally, every size of every font requires that this data be added to the reflash data. It’s the same for every bold in every size in every font, for every italic in every size in every font…you get the picture.

By looking at your reflash/fonts folder, you will be able to see the number, sizes and variations of fonts that you are using in your design. In the image below, you can see that this design uses Arial Bold Italic 18, Arial Bold 17, Arial Italic 16, Arial Italic 17 and Arial Normal 17.

Our second font-handling method, using runtime fonts, the source code for the font engine used in the design is generated and loaded to your hardware. Then when a character is needed, the font glyph is generated from this code. This can be especially beneficial if you are using languages like Chinese where tens of thousands of characters are required. Instead of loading every single one of the characters you might need in your production GUI, each one is generated as needed.

So which method do you choose? Honestly, it depends. Runtime fonts are generally recommended if the size of the font engine and shaper code is less than the size of the generated glyphs font files. If these are equal, we recommend using the pre-rendered glyphs (the first method), because pre-rendered glyphs do not have the same CPU and RAM requirements of a runtime font engine. Also, in some special cases when the right rendering pipeline is used, pre-rendered glyphs will have smaller encoding and compression formats than the runtime option.

Font range

Another great way to save space on your hardware is to modify your .gen file for code generation to load only certain font ranges. If you have a design that uses a single font size or type only once in a splash screen, you can program your software to load only the ASCII English letters section with a Unicode font. This can save a lot of space on hardware!

In the example above, you can see how simple it is to manipulate a font range. In the first line, we’re loading only the character range [\32-\127]. In the second line, the character range is applied to a specific denoted font in the project. -Arial-medium-r-normal–_-170. This is the only font impacted so this font will have only the predetermined printable characters loaded to hardware. The third line applies the limit to all fonts of a certain family, the font above included. The %FONTRANGEFLAG% support ups to 1024 selections (1024 different bracketed ranges from the example), and those selections can be characters or character codes. These lines would not be used together in the same .gen file; it is just three single line examples.

Font optimization results

Please note that the following reflash file sizes apply to the very simple test designs for this article. The only way to know how they will affect your designs is to use these tests on your own GUI projects.

In Example A, you will see 13 different fonts. The second design, Example B, uses a single font. Example A has a reflash .bin file size of 73 kB. Example B utilizes only one font and does not include any bold or italics, has a .bin size of 24kB. When we generate code for Example B and use the %FONTRANGEFLAG% * [\32-~] in the .gen file, we get the .bin size down to 2kB!

It’s important to note that optimizations of this magnitude can impact the overall user experience of your GUI. Striking the right balance of design and memory usage is essential, so be sure to test early and often. Part of that testing may include understanding whether every font used in your design is necessary. Altia makes it easy to user test during development so that you can find that balance before you even get to hardware. Implementing any feedback is fast too!

Using font ranging can also make a huge difference in the .bin file size. This, too, must be done carefully. If you use a character in your GUI that isn’t included in the specified font range, you will get an error. Yet another reason to make testing part of your development process!

Finally, reducing your GUI design to a minimal number of fonts can provide incredible RAM savings. While it might not make sense to reduce your font usage to just one like we did in our example, this is an area where your design team can really make an impact on your memory usage.

Conclusion

There are many ways to help prevent designers from running into RAM space and CPU usage issues while designing high-quality GUIs for embedded devices. These font design techniques for embedded GUIs are just a few to consider.

Altia specializes in getting high-impact graphics onto the lowest possible hardware. Our GUI experts have powerful techniques for creating and implementing high-quality graphics with less time and effort. Feel free to request a demo with our team to discuss how you can create exciting, rich GUIs for your memory-constrained hardware.

The Latest with Altia DeepScreen

Altia DeepScreen is our graphics code generator that not only saves development teams hundreds of hours of coding time, but also is the key to getting your artist’s gorgeous GUI from their graphics assets to your production hardware.

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DeepScreen Code Generator Target Updates

The Altia DeepScreen Engineering team has been busy updating and expanding our DeepScreen targets. Here are the most recent updates in our portfolio:

Android
Infineon TRAVEO® T2G
Linux Weston/Wayland
Linux DRM
MediaTek MT2715
NXP i.MX RT 1050/1060
NPX i.MX RT 1160/1170
NXP i.MX 8M Plus
Qualcomm SA8155 (Snapdragon)
Renesas R-Car E3e
Renesas RZ/G2
STMicroelectronics STM32H7
STMicroelectronics STM32MP1
Telechips TCC805x (Dolphin 3)
Telechips TCC803x (Dolphin+)
Texas Instruments AM62

We have been updating and expanding Altia Safety Monitor for these DeepScreen targets.

Altia Safety Monitor for R-Car M3
Altia Safety Monitor for R-Car E3
Altia Safety Monitor for Infineon TRAVEO® TG2

Learn more about Altia's Automatic Code Generation

Each Altia DeepScreen target is carefully architected to leverage the assets available on your hardware target. This means that you get the best balance of performance and BOM cost for your product. And because Altia supports a wide array of hardware targets, you have greater flexibility to swap hardware and scale your UI.

Whether your hardware is a low-cost target with limited memory or a high-end processor with 3D graphics capability, Altia DeepScreen can generate perfect, reliable, certifiable C code for your production device.

Get to Production Faster with Altia

Want to save time and money on your next embedded GUI project? Forget writing code by hand. Use Altia instead! Altia DeepScreen auto-generates code from your Altia GUI, saving your team hundreds of hours hand coding graphics.

Altia is trusted by customers all over the world, including:

We are proud to deliver best-in-class GUI development software and services

With Altia, you have the right tools and services to get market-winning user interfaces design, developed and deployed efficiently.

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Why Altia is the Market Leader in GUI Development Software and Services

At Altia, we aspire to help companies design, develop and deploy attractive, intuitive GUIs that delight their customers.

Learn why companies all over the world rely on Altia to put their best interface forward. Request your demo today!

Altia Releases Altia Design 13.2

Posted on May 27, 2021June 8, 2021 by Altia

Altia, an international leader in GUI design and development tools, today announced the release of Altia Design 13.2, the company’s flagship editing suite for the creation of embedded graphical user interfaces (GUIs). In addition to the Dynamic List Object, which gives designers the ability to add a customizable list feature into their displays, Altia Design 13.2 includes a new blending mode, 9-slice image scaling, drag-and-drop capabilities and other upgrades to improve usability for Altia software users.

Altia Design allows GUI designers to turn static digital graphics into fully functional GUI prototypes. The platform is used by professionals around the world in automotive, medical, industrial and consumer goods applications. Version 13.2 takes the power of Altia Design to a new level via new features that include:

Dynamic List Object: Gives designers the ability to embed list import capability into user displays. End users can quickly create contact lists, music lists and more, with fully customizable behaviors, layout options, arrays and grids.
Color Emojis: Allows end-users to add vivid emojis into their GUIs.
Drag and Drop: Powerful options for designers to automatically create image objects and decks by simply dragging files onto a project canvas.
3D Blending Modes: Ability to overlay and blend multiple graphic layers into a single object for exciting dimensional effects.
Dark Mode: New setting which converts the Altia Design interface to a dark background display environment. Reduces eye strain for designers, especially those working in rooms with low ambient light.
9-Slice Image Scaling: Popular with designers, this capability demarcates the object screen into nine subsections using two horizontal and two vertical dividers. Nine-slice image scaling enables designers to scale different sections of the screen image without distorting the other sections. The capability makes it much easier to add anything from buttons and sliders to input boxes, progress bars, scrollbars and other widget controls.

“In everything from automobiles to smart home devices and medical equipment, the demand for fast, intuitive and beautiful GUI controls is increasing,” noted Jeff Urkevich, Director of Product Marketing for Altia. “At the same time, GUI designers are looking for new ways to speed their daily work while supporting the innovations that end-users are looking for. We believe Altia Design 13.2 will be a welcome step in meeting all these important requirements.”

“Everything we do at Altia is informed by the needs of our users and their customers,” added Tim Day, Altia Product Manager. “The improvements in Altia Design 13.2 come directly from interactions with our users. Together they make it significantly easier for these professionals to create amazingly cool graphical experiences.”

Altia Design 13.2 is immediately available; Altia customers interested in upgrading to Version 13.2 should email their local FAE team or contact [email protected].

About Altia

Altia is a software company that provides graphical user interface design and development tools that can be used from concept to final product code. Our GUI editor, Altia Design, offers development teams the capability to implement a model-based development process for clear communication and accelerated user interface development. Our code generator, Altia DeepScreen, supports a vast range of low- to high-powered processors from a variety of industry-leading silicon providers. Altia generates pure C source code that is optimized to take full advantage of hardware resources. Graphics code generated by Altia is driving millions of displays worldwide – from automotive instrument clusters, HUDs and radios to thermostats, washing machines and healthcare monitors. Our mission is to get the
best automotive, medical and consumer interfaces into production in the shortest time on the lowest- cost hardware.

Altia was founded in 1991. Its customers include automotive OEMs and Tier 1s like Continental Automotive, Denso, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Honda, Renault, Magneti Marelli, Nippon Seiki, Valeo, Visteon and more – plus leading consumer device manufacturers like Electrolux, Whirlpool, NordicTrack and many others.

For more information about Altia, visit www.altia.com or email [email protected]. Follow Altia on LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

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Evaluating GUI Design Software

Posted on May 24, 2021August 3, 2021 by Altia

If you’re in need of an interactive screen, you have likely searched the internet and found your way to the term “GUI”, short for graphical user interface. You’re in the right place! Creating a GUI will allow your customers to directly interact with your product through an embedded display or touch screen. It’s incredibly exciting to kick off a project like this, but simply getting started can be the hardest part.

Whether you’re a graphic designer in charge of mocking up the actual UI design or you’re the software engineer assigned to coding it, we’re going to help you through the process of evaluating GUI design software so you can make the best decision for your team and project moving forward. Also, in case you missed it, our most recent blog in this series discussed how to get started with HMI or GUI software and we break down a ton of terms and acronyms.

How do I even start building a GUI?

Modern user interfaces (UI) are creating the need for extremely robust, yet accessible GUIs. Maybe you need to communicate information received from a medical scope, or maybe you need to see the output from a machine that’s vital to your product and the end-user.

Whatever your industry or need, we can help you determine what to think about as you start the building process. We’re going to break down the five things to consider when evaluating GUI (or HMI if you’re automotive) design software.

1. Compatibility and ease of the tool

You will need to think about how much time you have for the project, how complicated of a process getting the code on the hardware will be and how robust of a GUI you actually need. Think about how you are really going to use this GUI.

Some tools require more coding from your team, so that adds time and the necessity for someone who knows the logic. This is where you might start to think about hand-coding your GUI.

Hand-coding takes a long time—that’s just a fact. You might think that you only need four screens, but once you get to working with a prototype, you realize that six screens will be more effective and have a better user experience. Then, when you think you’re all wrapped up, your marketing team wants you to change the display to be on-brand with the new brand standards, so you have to redo everything. We’ve been there.

When you’re hand-coding, each iteration takes time to manually change every single detail. This doesn’t account for all the additional coding that would be required when new functionalities and feature requests roll out or for the regression caused by modifications to the existing code. Additionally, this doesn’t account for the case where the production hardware needs to change. (We’re encountering a chip shortage now, which could change the hardware for many companies moving forward, at least in the short-term.)

What about hardware? Some tools require high-end, more expensive hardware. Is that a cost your bill of material (BOM) can bear? If your product requires a more cost-sensitive chip, then you need a tool that is flexible enough to support right-priced hardware.

Altia can work on all platforms or hardware, no matter the size—from the smallest chip with kilobyte memories and a couple-inch display to more powerful parts driving multiple 4K or larger displays with immersive 3D graphics. Altia can adapt your design to your hardware without having to redo everything from the ground up.

Likewise, it’s important to note that some GUI development tools require a certain operating system. That operating system can also have hardware requirements which drive up the total BOM cost. Unlike those other solutions, Altia’s software does not rely on any operating system.

Here at Altia, we haven’t come across a piece of hardware that we can’t support. Plus, Altia can work with any OS or no OS at all. We have solutions available to deliver the best performing, right-priced platform for your specific project.

Some examples of hardware supported by our DeepScreen code generator include STMicroelectronics, Infineon, NXP, Renesas, Texas Instruments and Qualcomm, as well as operating systems like Linux, QNX, Green Hills, iOS, Windows and, of course, Android.

Most other tools can’t say what we can: we specialize in generating super-optimized graphics code—high performance and the lowest possible footprint. We do that by taking advantage of all the features on your selected processor.

When we create a DeepScreen target, we don’t create something generic that needs a lot of work or porting to make it run properly on your hardware. We evaluate your platform and generate code to make each hardware feature sing, so you get the best performance while saving BOM cost.

2. Features

Now that you’ve thought about your goal for the GUI and know the hardware you’re going to use, you can start thinking about the fun stuff: design and development. The next part of the evaluation process includes looking at all of the tool’s features.

Typical features to evaluate:

Graphics or design images – can you import artwork from any tool, like Photoshop, Illustrator, Maya, Sketch, etc.?
Seamless integration of your company’s branding and image – can you customize a library of design elements?
Fonts capabilities for global language support (including right-to-left scripts)
Font designs
Animations
3D capabilities
The ability to integrate 2D and 3D content
Streamlined user-friendly workflows – can your artists start in their favorite graphics software first?
Rapid prototyping, simulation, and mid-development testing to make sure you’re on the right track
Hardware testing and backtracking abilities to make any tweaks
On hardware performance
Boot time
Coding language capabilities – are you using C or C++? Does that work with your hardware?
User-friendly drag and drop interface
WYSIWYG editor for integrated development
Hardware and OS support (Is an OS actually required?)
Average production time

One piece of advice we want to offer you is to always ask your questions up–front, no matter what tool you are using. We don’t want you to get 75% of the way through building your GUI just to realize the tool doesn’t have a feature that you really need.

3. Support and services

One thing that can get lost in the pricing and features list is support. Here at Altia, support is our top priority. We allow you to choose the level of support that your team needs. We all know that time is money, so getting your team’s support issues resolved quickly is key to staying on time and on budget.

Do you need email responses only? Do you need customer-dedicated, on-site personnel? Do you need multi-language support, like German, Chinese, French, Italian and Korean? We never just provide a simple templated response or send you an article to figure out the answer yourself. We care about any problems you’re encountering and want you to get moving again in 24 hours or less.

Beyond simple technical support, we help you through the unexpected. As we mentioned earlier, what if your particular hardware becomes unavailable? Instead of directing you back to the beginning of your process using the tool, we will support your transition to a new hardware. Recall issues? Not on our watch.

If a service is free or has a free trial, make sure that you have a level of support beyond what you think you need at the beginning. As GUI experts, we know that surprises happen and problems can arise right when you’re on the verge of missing a deadline.

Something else to think about in the realm of support is your team’s capabilities. Do you have all of the expertise you need to get your GUI from a concept to reality? As we mentioned in our Getting Started with HMI Software article, you need a variety of people working on the GUI.

We’ve seen it all. Maybe you have a rockstar team of graphic designers who have sketched up the most beautiful display you have ever seen. But they have no clue how to code and get this user interface ported to embedded hardware. Or maybe you have the tech resources and logic experts, but you don’t have the UX person to bring in that end-user perspective to your UI design.

Altia offers solutions to fill in any gaps that you may have. Our response to your problem will always be: we can do that. While we are not a contract engineering house, we have the tools and the drive to help you get your project to completion. Jeff Stewart, our Director of Global Sales Engineering, says it best, “We will truly help you get a product done. Come to us and we will do it better, smaller and faster.”

4. Advanced considerations: questions to ask

Now that you have thought about the ease of the tool, features that are important to you and various support levels, we challenge you to look toward the future and think outside the box.

Will you need advanced testing done? Does your product need to meet any certifications (typically required for automotive and medical devices)? Does your product need to adhere to any safety or quality requirements?

What kind of hardware will you need later on? We mentioned this earlier, but the tool you choose may only work with certain hardware options, so make sure to check on this before purchasing any software – not just for your current platform but possible alternatives as well.

Additionally, what about licensing? Do you receive temporary licensing or perpetual access? Where is your data stored?

Is it possible that you will want to scale your GUI to a family of products? Maybe you will start with a premium model, but later on, you could add that feature to a middle or lower-end model. Does your product need to be updated post-production and will your GUI be capable of over-the-air updates?

Will your software allow you to reuse your graphic assets so that you don’t have to start from square one? Will your software allow you to generate code for lower cost hardware that will align with the price point needed for these different models?

We know these are a lot of questions to think about and ask, but they will absolutely help you on the front-end of your project.

Lastly, one thing we see come up often for customers is that they need maintenance once the initial project is complete. Make sure to ask about product updates and implementation, as well as system maintenance if issues come up months or years later.

5. Price

The last consideration is price. While this tends to be the most common evaluator because it’s easy to compare two numbers, it shouldn’t be the main consideration. GUI design software is on a spectrum when it comes to cost—there are free options out there and there are more expensive options, all ranging in capabilities, support and features.

When evaluating GUI software, think about the other considerations discussed here. Then make sure to prioritize what is important to you and your team. If your team is small, maybe think about prioritizing support and services, especially if the tool has the ability to fill the gap of any team members you’re lacking.

If your tool is inexpensive but difficult to use, you may end up using any previous savings on development costs. Similarly, if your tool forces a hardware or OS choice that drives up your BOM cost, you will eventually pay more for the materials required for each item you produce.

While we encourage you to do as much research as possible, we don’t want you to get exhausted before your project even begins. Our Altia experts specialize in providing a premium experience and full-service support for projects in automotive, medical, consumer device, home appliance, industrial devices and beyond.

We will work with you to find a solution and get your product to completion, building you a high performance, professional-looking GUI on time and with optimized performance.

Are you interested in talking one-on-one with someone from our team? Request a free, no commitment demo now!

New Features in Altia Design 13.2

Posted on May 18, 2021May 18, 2021 by Altia

Altia Design 13.2 for Windows 10 is now available! In Altia Design 13.2, you will find new features to help you design your next GUIs even more efficiently. You will also find powerful improvements to our product UX to help you stay focused.

What will you find in Altia Design 13.2?

9-Slice Object

This new feature prevents image distortion by protecting the corners and scaling only the non-corner sections. Top and bottom edge sections are scaled horizontally; left and right edge sections are scaled vertically; the middle section is scaled both horizontally and vertically. With 9-Slide Object, you can now scale and animate images in your GUI while maintaining their crisp, clean, photo-realistic quality.

Dark Mode

Your bright ideas – now in Dark Mode! With Altia Design 13.2, you get the option to work in traditional light mode or our new Dark Mode. Whether you are looking to reduce eye strain, increase your focus or just love the look of your Altia canvas on a black background, we have you covered!

Don’t forget about these other new Altia Design 13.2 features!

Dynamic List Object

The Dynamic List Object allows for the creation of highly customized lists with numerous layout options. Create everything from the simplest of lists to the most highly advanced – with fully customizable behaviors and layout options. In addition, the Dynamic List Object allows the easy creation of dynamic arrays and grids of like objects.

Support for Color Font Glyphs such as Color Emojis

Altia Design 13.2 brings new depth to your communication GUIs with color emoji support! This new support will add an engaging look and feel to your GUI – giving your customers the capability to send and receive incredibly expressive messages.

New Resource Manager Features

These new features are designed to make you more efficient. Altia Design 13.2 offers full drag-and-drop support for project resources, including powerful options to automatically create Image Objects and Decks when dragging image files onto the Canvas.

New Material Blend Modes for the 3D Object – Screen, Multiply and Additive

In Altia Design 13.2, you will find full support for 3D pre-multiplied alpha blending as well as new material blend modes including Additive, Multiply and Screen. These advanced effects will allow you to implement your unique design vision more easily.

Important Defects Addressed

At Altia, our commitment to provide the highest quality software products to our customers is paramount. In Altia Design 13.2, we have addressed 54 product defects to ensure that our quality standards remain unmatched in the industry.

Want to get a look at the new features in this release? Check out our webcast on demand – where we showcase the Dynamic List Object and much more!