Middleware｜YEBIS|Silicon Studio Corporation

MiddlewareStudio [YEBIS]

YEBIS is a multi-platform library providing various next-generation post processing effects. Based on the HDR (High Dynamic Range) rendering, this library offers effects including:

Depth-of-Field (Defocusing)
Glare
Motion Blur
Tone Mapping / Color Correction
(including gamma correction and brightness adjustment)

These highly optimized effects are the result of years of R&D, and are available using with only a few API calls. Because YEBIS is a library created specifically for post processing, it relies very little on rendering operations not related to post processing. This makes it easy to integrate into existing systems.

YEBIS can even create quasi-HDR information from scenes rendered using traditional LDR (Low Dynamic Range) techniques, and use the information to apply HDR post processing effects to the scene. This means, again, easy integration into existing engines and also efficient use of limited memory.

For any rendering operation there is a tradeoff between speed and quality. This tradeoff is configurable for each effect in the library, allowing developers to adjust the output as necessary.

Features provided by YEBIS Library

Basic Effects
- Airy Disk Simulation
- Auto-Focus
- Automatic Exposure Adjustment
- Depth-Of-Field (Defocusing)
- Feedback Blur
- Gaussian Blur
- Feedback Blur
- Glare
- Motion Blur
- Tone Mapping / Color Correction
- Vignetting
- All computations are done in HDR, creating more natural and realistic atmosphere.

Other features
- HDR effects even when scene is rendered in LDR
- Multi-platform

Feature Specifications

Depth-of-Field Effect (Defocusing)
Realistic defocusing effects may be achieved with simple optical parameters such as Focusing Distance and Aperture Value. Unlike conventional techniques which apply uniform blur to the scene, the Depth-of Field Effect can incorporate aperture blade shapes that have been difficult to represent in real time. Similar effects may also be achieved using the quasi-HDR mode.

The Depth-of-Field Effect provides multiple algorithms, from which developers may select the precise expression, load, and/or quality best suited to the scene.

Glare Effect

The Glare Effect is configured with an intensity and a threshold value that triggers the glare, or simply by selecting from one of several preset glare types. Different types of glare are expressed as a combination of several components:
- Bloom (soft round glare)
- Star (radiating lights)
- Ghost (lens flare familiar to photographers), among others
- Each glare type is made of a specific combination of these elements, producing an attractive and lifelike glare effect.

Tone Mapping / Color Correction
A set of tone mapping functions produces final LDR images from rendering results obtained with HDR-based post effects. The mapping may be selected from various functions that have different characteristics. Color correction including brightness and gamma correction is included as well.

HDR Effects on LDR (Low Dynamic Range, Non-HDR) Rendering Results

Rendering engines often cannot provide HDR rendering, especially when trying to add next-generation features to an existing engine. Also, special tools and training for artists are required to create materials for HDR rendering, which invariably increases the developers’ burden and hence the cost.

YEBIS helps developers avoid this problem by building quasi-HDR information from an LDR-rendered scene, and then allowing HDR-based effects to be applied to the scene. Developers may easily achieve HDR effects with simple API calls without new R&D and/or special tools.

The quasi-HDR information affects only the post processing applied, and the resulting image is the same LDR image as the original except for the effects. Developers can take advantage of HDR-based effects without worrying about losing the original quality of the LDR image they started with. This behavior translates to, with the Depth-of-Field and the Glare Effects , far more realistic images, even when the source images are conventional LDR rendering results.