STM's Nomadik Application Processor Integrates Innovative Graphics Technology for Mobile Multimedia

ST and AMD announced their strategic licensing agreement in February 2007, and engineers from both companies have worked closely together to integrate AMD’s 2D, 3D and vector graphics technology into ST’s Nomadik devices.

The combination of Nomadik and AMD graphics technology considerably improves image quality while delivering industry-leading battery life. The platform opens new possibilities for mobile devices with game console-quality graphics. Content developers get powerful tools and optimized middleware for the development of 3D games, realistic maps and other graphics-intensive mobile applications.

ST’s Nomadik leading-edge graphics capabilities will be showcased in a stunning demo at the Mobile World Congress 2008. The AMD Pinball demo is a playable pinball game showcasing the capabilities of high-end OpenGL ES 2.0 hardware, which is being publicly demonstrated on real hardware for the first time. The Pinball demo was developed by AMD using its content development tools and software development kit (SDK), which makes up a key element of the OpenGL ES 2.0 content ecosystem. The demo showcases advanced per pixel shader effects such as cube map reflections and ‘phong specular’ highlights.

“The powerful combination of AMD and ST technologies ushers in a new era of photorealism in mobile graphics, unlimited by the processing capacity of the handheld device,” said Teppo Hemia, Multimedia Chipset Business Unit Director within ST’s Wireless Multimedia Division. “Advanced graphic capabilities of ST’s newest Nomadik application processor will allow users to enjoy life-like scenes and action never seen on a mobile before.”

“AMD is committed to enabling the kind of immersive mobile entertainment that is driving demand throughout the handheld market,” said Adrian Hartog, senior vice president and general manager of AMD’s Consumer Electronics Group. “Our collaboration with ST demonstrates how far we have progressed in building the ecosystem needed to deliver the Ultimate Visual Experience across a full spectrum of devices and platforms.”

ST’s new Nomadik STn8820 application processor combines distributed high-performance multi-core processing with ultra-low power consumption. The device integrates programmable smart accelerators for high-definition video, multi-channel audio, DSC-class (Digital Still Camera) imaging and 2D/3D graphics together with a powerful general-purpose ARM11 core.

ST’s Nomadik mobile multimedia processors can be used in smart phones, mobile Internet devices, mobile computers, portable multimedia and navigation devices, and in-car entertainment systems.