OpenSL ES for low-level embedded sound and audio acceleration

The Khronos Group is pleased to announce the formation of the new OpenSL ES (Open Sound Library for Embedded Systems) working group to define an open, royalty-free, cross-platform API (application programming interface) standard to enable low-level audio hardware acceleration across multiple embedded devices and platforms. OpenSL ES was initiated by Creative Labs and already has strong initial support from audio industry leaders including Beatnik, NVIDIA, QSound Labs and Sonaptic. OpenSL ES will be developed under the proven Khronos participation framework and Khronos invites any interested company to join and participate in the development of OpenSL ES and other Khronos standards, more information over here.

The goal of OpenSL ES is to define an application-oriented audio API tuned for embedded systems, standardizing access to hardware acceleration features such as 3D positional audio and MIDI playback. OpenSL ES will provide a fully cross-platform foundation for a wide range of higher-level audio APIs, including JSR-234, and will enable easy porting of game and applications of across multiple platforms and audio devices. OpenSL ES is at an abstraction level similar to OpenGL ES for 3D graphics and will complement the system-oriented audio component of OpenMAX IL, another Khronos Group API currently under development.