The Raspberry Pi 4, Raspberry Pi 400, and the Compute Module 4 have passed a key test to get Vulkan support, which will eventually give developers better access to the computers' Broadcom VideoCore GPU.
In October, the V3DV driver was merged into the latest version of the Mesa graphic stack for the Raspberry Pi 4. Mesa is an open-source implementation of OpenGL and Vulkan – a set of interfaces that let graphics and gaming developers tap modern GPUs for better performance.
The V3DV driver is the key vehicle for bringing Vulkan support to the newer Broadcom VideoCore GPU hardware in the Raspberry Pi 4, the Compute Module 4, and the Raspberry Pi 400 keyboard computer.
SEE: 10 ways to prevent developer burnout (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
Iago Toral, a senior graphics engineer at Igalia, has been leading the VD3V driver effort over the past year under contract with the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
According to Toral, yesterday the V3DV Vulkan Mesa driver for Raspberry Pi 4 successfully demonstrated Vulkan 1.0 conformance, so the driver should be able to support applications that require Vulkan 1.0.
Khronos Group, which oversees the Vulkan specification, requires vendors to pass its conformance tests that ensure its specifications are implemented before a product can be called compliant with the specification. It sounds like that's still a little way off.
As Toral outlined in June, the driver then still needed a lot of work before it could support Vulkan games and applications. The goal was to implement all Vulkan 1.0 features and pass thousands of conformance tests.
Toral noted today that despite achieving conformance with the specification, more still needed to be done to expand the Vulkan feature set, to improve performance and fix bugs.
"Vulkan 1.0 conformance is a major milestone in bringing Vulkan to Raspberry Pi, but it isn't the end of the journey," notes Toral.
More on Raspberry Pi and single-board computers
SolidRun takes on Google's Raspberry Pi-like computer
Raspberry Pi 400: Its designer reveals more about the faster Pi 4 in the $70 PC's keyboard
Raspberry Pi 400 is out: $70 for a complete PC with a faster Pi 4 in a keyboard
Raspberry Pi 4: Higher-quality, faster graphics edge closer with Vulkan support via Mesa
Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 is out: $25 with a new form factor and new connectors
Google's $100 Linux Coral Dev Board mini quietly launches – but sells out fast
Windows 10 Raspberry Pi rival: Intel Atom chip powers this new Rock Pi X board
Raspberry Pi: Banana Pi maker touts this new rival board with Amlogic chip and 4GB RAM
Raspberry Pi 4 faces $59 Rock Pi 4C challenger with dual display output
Raspberry Pi: Now computer-vision apps get boost with Khronos OpenVX API
New Raspberry Pi OS update: First 8GB Pi 4, now you get these latest features
New Raspberry Pi 4: 8GB RAM model out now for $75 – plus you get a new 64-bit OS
New Raspberry Pi 4 update beta lets you boot from a USB mass storage device
Raspberry Pi reveals this new $50 high-quality Pi camera with interchangeable lenses
Raspberry Pi alternative: New Odroid-C4 undercuts 4GB Raspberry Pi 4 by $5
Raspberry Pi sales jump: Here's why the tiny computer's in demand in coronavirus crisis
Raspberry Pi 4's big price cut: 2GB model gets massive birthday reduction
Raspberry Pi 4 graphics win: Open-source Vulkan driver support is coming
Raspberry Pi gets MIT's Scratch 3 programming language for Raspbian
Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspbian Buster: Hands-On
Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is out: Faster CPU, GPU, dual-screen 4K, up to 4GB for $55
Raspberry Pi users: You got Pi 4, now new Raspbian takes Windows 10, iOS design cuesWhat are the best Raspberry Pi alternatives? Everything you need to know about Pi rivalsWhat is the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B? A closer look at the new board and what it can do TechRepublicRaspberry Pi 4 Model B review: This board really can replace your PC TechRepublicRaspberry Pi 4 : This thing is a PC, says board's creator Eben Upton TechRepublicNew Raspberry Pi add-on: Now you can monitor air pollution indoors and outRaspberry Pi: A cheat sheet TechRepublic Google includes a Raspberry Pi in a DIY smart speaker kit CNET