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Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:52:50 -0400
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From: Hamid Wasti <hwasti@lm50.com>
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Subject: Re: [LML] Re: fallability in the digital age
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Colyn Case on earthlink wrote:
>     I have to disagree that you would emit detailed terrain /for lack 
> of processing/ resources.  At this point, the amount of 3d processing 
> power available in a single chip is huge.
Everything you say is possible if you are willing to use Windows or 
Lunix and an industry standard interface like DirectX.  Are you willing 
to trust your life to a PFD that runs Windows?

>   (disclaimer: I'm a chip architect for nVidia)  The chips we are 
> currently making....
The capabilities of the chips you are currently making are unavailable 
to certified avionics unless nVidia is willing to share all the details 
of the chips with the customer (it was a non-starter the last time I 
inquired) AND willing to foot the likely 8 figure bill to certify the 
proprietary source code running on the GPU (Graphics Processor Unit) to 
DO178 standards. As Brent mentioned, the FAA is getting wiser to all the 
semantics and hand waving people were able to get away with in the past. 
There have been some presentations and position papers out of the FAA in 
recent months that point to a rather dark future for PC based systems in 
the cockpit, especially when it comes to offloading a bunch of 
processing to the GPU. This stems in a large part from a lack of 
visibility into the internal working of the GPU and GPU code.

>     So I think it's going to happen and someone will do a decent job 
> of it.
That may well come true in the experimental world, but not in the 
certified world. Not without a complete turnabout in the attitude of the 
FAA and graphics chip manufacturers like nVidia and neither side has 
even the slightest incentive to change.

Regards,

Hamid