Day: September 2, 2020

A

post on the DirectX Developer Blog

discusses DirectStorage, a new feature
coming to NVMe SSD-equipped Windows PCs to “introduce a new era of no-compromise
gameplay” (thanks Simon). They explain further: “With a DirectStorage capable PC
and a DirectStorage enabled game, you can look forward to vastly reduced load
times and virtual worlds that are more expansive and detailed than ever.” They
say that they are currently working with industry partners to finish designing
the API and they hope to distribute a development preview of DirectStorage to
game developers next year. They offer some technical details on how this will
work and the following overview:

Unfortunately, current storage APIs were
not optimized for this high number of IO requests, preventing them from scaling
up to these higher NVMe bandwidths creating bottlenecks that limit what games
can do. Even with super-fast PC hardware and an NVMe drive, games using the
existing APIs will be unable to fully saturate the IO pipeline leaving precious
bandwidth on the table.

That’s where DirectStorage for PC comes in. This API is the response to an
evolving storage and IO landscape in PC gaming. DirectStorage will be supported
on certain systems with NVMe drives and work to bring your gaming experience to
the next level. If your system doesn’t support DirectStorage, don’t fret; games
will continue to work just as well as they always have.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that it has launched a new tool to improve the transparency of driverless vehicle testing programs. The new map-based tool is part of the Automated Vehicle Transparency and Engagement for Safe Testing (AV TEST) Initiative, which is being overseen by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

“This tool gives the public online access to data about the on-road testing of automated driving systems so the public can understand more about this new technology,” said Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao in the agency’s announcement.

While the tool does not actually track autonomous vehicles on the road in real-time — at least not in its current implementation — it does provide background information regarding current driverless vehicle operations and the organizations conducting said programs. The screenshot below, for example, shows information regarding the autonomy project Toyota is currently running out of its R&D center in Ann Arbor, Mich. 

“The more information the public has about the on-road testing of automated driving systems, the more they will understand the development of this promising technology.  Automated driving systems are not yet available for sale to the public, and the AV TEST Initiative will help improve public understanding of the technology’s potential and limitations as it continues to develop,” said NHTSA Deputy Administrator James Owens.                                                                  

“Given the speed with which this technology is evolving, a volunteer partnership with industry and the States has allowed us to get this information to the public quickly and efficiently.  By tapping into the power of the competitive marketplace, non-regulatory tools have proven to be effective in advancing vehicle safety, as evidenced by the success of the Five-Star Safety Ratings program,” he added.

The Department will open the tool up to local agencies and program operators to further flesh out the data within the tool, hopefully guaranteeing that it remains current as testing programs mature.

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