DiSTI GL Studio® for HMI Development Across Industries

Last Updated on 25 September 2026

As technology becomes more intelligent, connected, and responsive, the way people interact with complex systems is evolving just as quickly. Modern interfaces are expected to present critical information clearly, respond in real time, and perform reliably across increasingly demanding embedded environments.

This is where capable HMI development tools become essential. DiSTI’s GL Studio helps teams create high-performance, flexible, and safety-critical interfaces while supporting faster development, reusable workflows, and evolving system requirements. Its capabilities also extend naturally into virtual training solutions, where realistic and responsive user experiences are equally important.

What Is DiSTI GL Studio?

DiSTI’s GL Studio® is an HMI and UI development platform designed for building high-performance interfaces across embedded and safety-critical environments. It gives development teams a flexible way to create, test, and deploy sophisticated user interfaces while maintaining the performance and reliability required by demanding systems.

Its core capabilities include:

Embedded HMI and UI Development: Supports the development of responsive interfaces designed specifically for embedded systems and constrained hardware environments.
Real-Time 2D and 3D Graphics: Enables high-fidelity graphics, animations, instrumentation, and interactive visual experiences that respond in real time.
Native C++ Performance: Generates native C++ applications to support efficient runtime performance, fast startup, and lower CPU utilization.
Reusable and Modular Development: Allows teams to reuse application code, custom packages, plug-ins, and graphical assets across multiple projects.
Rapid Testing and Target Deployment: Provides instant UI preview and testing, drag-and-drop development, and OneTouch Deployment™ to simplify the move from development to target hardware.

By bringing these capabilities into a single development environment, GL Studio® helps teams build complex HMIs more efficiently while giving them the flexibility to adapt interfaces as hardware, platform, and program requirements evolve.

How GL Studio® Helps Automotive HMIs Move Faster Without Compromising Performance or Safety

As vehicles become more software-defined and display-driven, automotive HMIs have to do more than look sophisticated. They need to present information quickly, respond without lag, work efficiently on embedded hardware, and support safety-critical functions throughout long vehicle lifecycles. GL Studio® is designed for this environment, giving automotive teams a common platform for prototyping and production while supporting real-time performance and functional safety requirements.

Automotive Use Cases for GL Studio®

The modern vehicle experience now stretches across multiple screens and interaction points. GL Studio® enables teams to develop these interfaces within a shared environment, helping maintain consistency in graphics, behaviours, and reusable components across the digital cockpit.

Digital Instrument Clusters – Presenting vehicle, driving, and safety information through responsive digital displays.
Driver Information Modules – Bringing essential vehicle information into clear, interactive interfaces.
In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) – Supporting feature-rich infotainment and connected in-vehicle experiences.
Head-Up Displays and AR HUDs – Delivering important information within the driver’s field of view.
Rear-Seat Entertainment – Extending interactive digital experiences to passengers.

Supporting these different applications from the same development environment also creates a more connected workflow between designers and engineers, rather than treating every vehicle display as an isolated HMI project.

How GL Studio® Benefits Automotive Programs

The value goes beyond supporting multiple display types. GL Studio® is purpose-built for embedded automotive environments, where runtime efficiency, deployment speed, reuse, and functional safety can directly influence development effort and production readiness.

Faster HMI Development and Deployment – Visual development, rapid prototyping, testing, and OneTouch Deployment™ help shorten the path from interface creation to target hardware.
Efficient Runtime Performance – Native C++ and an optimised runtime help reduce CPU utilisation while maintaining responsive graphical performance.
Fast UI Startup – Efficient application startup supports interfaces where information needs to become available quickly.
Reusable Interfaces Across Vehicle Platforms – Shared components, themes, behaviours, and application logic can reduce redevelopment across different screens and configurations.
Safety-Critical Development Support – GL Studio® provides ISO 26262 ASIL D pre-certified runtime capabilities for automotive interfaces where functional safety is required.

Together, these capabilities help automotive teams balance the visual expectations of modern digital cockpits with the performance, reuse, and reliability required for production-ready embedded systems. They also provide a strong foundation for HMI development training, particularly as teams move into aviation environments where information accuracy, system reliability, and interface performance become even more critical.

How GL Studio® Brings Performance, Precision, and Safety to Aviation HMI Development

Aviation interfaces operate in environments where information has to be clear, responsive, and dependable. From production aircraft displays to training simulators, development teams must handle complex instrumentation, real-time visualization, and safety requirements without making the HMI development process unnecessarily difficult. GL Studio® supports this need by enabling rapid prototyping and development of interactive avionics displays for both training and production environments.

Where GL Studio® Supports Aviation Experiences

Aviation HMI requirements extend well beyond a single cockpit display. The same graphical content may need to support embedded aircraft systems, simulation environments, training devices, or instructor stations. GL Studio® provides the flexibility to create and reuse this content across a broad range of aviation applications.

Aircraft Instrumentation – Developing interactive avionics displays, controls, and instrumentation for aircraft applications.
Virtual Cockpits – Creating 2D and 3D cockpit environments for simulation, prototyping, and training.
Embedded Displays – Bringing responsive graphical interfaces to embedded avionics environments.
Head-Up Displays and Symbology – Creating HUDs and complex symbology that can integrate with third-party scene graphs and overlays.
Flight Simulators – Replicating cockpit instrumentation and multifunction displays for flight training environments.
Instructor Operator Stations – Reusing graphical content across instructor, repeater, and supporting training interfaces.
Moving Map Applications – Supporting interactive moving-map experiences within aviation simulation environments.

This ability to use graphical and instrumentation content across multiple aviation environments helps teams maintain greater consistency while reducing the need to recreate the same interface elements for every application.

How GL Studio® Strengthens Aviation HMI Programs

For aviation teams, the value of an HMI platform is not limited to what can be displayed. It also depends on how efficiently complex interfaces can be developed, how well they perform in real time, and whether the development approach can support safety-critical requirements.

Rapid Avionics Prototyping – A visual WYSIWYG environment helps teams create and refine complex avionics displays without relying on extensive low-level graphical coding.
Real-Time 2D and 3D Visualization – Interactive graphics support high-fidelity instrumentation, cockpit displays, and simulation experiences.
Reusable Virtual Instrumentation – Cockpit and instrumentation content can be created once and reused across different applications and training environments.
Scene Graph Integration – GL Studio® content can integrate with environments including Unity, Unreal, OpenSceneGraph, Prepar3D, and other supported scene graphs.
Safety-Critical Development – GL Studio® supports avionics safety-critical development for DO-178C programs up to DAL A.

Together, these capabilities help aviation teams move from early visualization and prototyping to embedded displays and advanced training environments while keeping performance, reuse, and safety requirements at the center of HMI development.

How GL Studio® Strengthens Defense HMI and Simulation Across Land, Sea, and Air

Defense HMI and simulation environments can span everything from vehicle controls and aircraft instrumentation to operator stations and training systems. These applications require interfaces that can handle complex visual information while remaining responsive, reusable, and efficient across demanding environments. DiSTI positions GL Studio® for defense applications across land, sea, and air, supporting both HMI development and simulation use cases.

Where GL Studio® Supports Defense Systems and Simulation

Defense programs rarely rely on a single type of interface. Different platforms may require embedded controls, virtual instrumentation, simulation displays, or operator interfaces. GL Studio® provides a common development environment that can be applied across these varied use cases.

Ground Vehicle Controls & Simulators – Developing graphical controls and simulated interfaces for ground vehicle environments.
Flight Simulators – Creating interactive cockpit and instrumentation experiences for flight simulation.
UAV Ground Control Stations – Supporting graphical interfaces used within unmanned aircraft control environments.
Virtual Instrumentation – Reproducing interactive instruments and displays for simulation and training applications.
Instructor Operator Stations – Building interfaces that give instructors control and visibility within training environments.
Part-Task Trainers – Supporting focused simulation applications designed around specific systems or operational tasks.
Moving Map Simulators – Enabling interactive map-based visualization within simulation environments.

Together, these applications demonstrate how GL Studio® can support graphical interface development across multiple defense platforms without limiting teams to one specific system or simulation environment.

How GL Studio® Adds Value to Defense HMI Programs

Supporting different applications is only part of the requirement. Defense development teams also need an HMI foundation that can deliver efficient runtime performance while allowing graphical content and application components to be reused as programs evolve.

High-Performance Runtime – Native C++ code, fast application startup, and an efficient runtime architecture help maintain responsive HMI performance.
Efficient CPU Utilization – GL Studio® uses a streamlined code base designed to deliver an efficient runtime with lower CPU utilization.
Reusable Development Assets – Application code, custom packages, and plug-ins can be repurposed across projects instead of rebuilding common functionality each time.
Flexible Integration – Access to generated code and the ability to interface with third-party software give development teams greater flexibility when integrating HMIs into larger systems.
Rapid Testing and Deployment – Instant UI preview and testing, reusable packages, and OneTouch Deployment™ help streamline the path from interface development to the target environment.

By combining performance, reuse, and deployment flexibility, GL Studio® gives defense teams a practical foundation for developing HMIs and simulation interfaces across a diverse range of platforms and program requirements.

How GL Studio® Supports High-Fidelity HMI Development for Complex Space Programs

Preparing systems and people for space operations places exceptionally high demands on visualization, simulation, and interface development. DiSTI describes space as an environment with stringent requirements where there is little room for error, making realistic simulation and dependable interface development especially important. GL Studio® is currently used in dozens of space-related production programs, supporting applications ranging from prototype cockpit displays to true-to-life 3D simulations.

How GL Studio® Supports Space Programs, Training, and Commercial Spaceflight

GL Studio® is used across both simulation and training programs and commercial spaceflight applications. Its role extends from developing embedded and cockpit displays to creating realistic simulations that help teams prepare for complex space operations.

Spacecraft Avionics – Supporting HMI development for spacecraft avionics applications.
Embedded and Cockpit Displays – Developing graphical interfaces for embedded systems and prototype cockpit displays.
Head-Up Displays – Supporting HUD applications within space and commercial spaceflight programs.
Ground Telemetry – Providing graphical interface capabilities for ground telemetry applications.
3D Simulations – Creating true-to-life 3D simulation experiences, including spacecraft landing scenarios.
Training and Simulation – Supporting simulation and training environments used to prepare teams for space operations.

Together, these applications allow GL Studio® to contribute to both the development of space-related interfaces and the realistic simulation environments used for preparation and training.

How GL Studio® Adds Value to Space Programs

For space programs, the value of an HMI development platform lies in its ability to support complex visualization, prototyping, embedded displays, and simulation within demanding program environments. DiSTI specifically positions GL Studio® around these requirements.

Rapid Prototyping – GL Studio® supports rapid prototyping for commercial spaceflight applications, helping teams develop and evaluate interface concepts as programs progress.
High-Fidelity 3D Simulation – True-to-life 3D simulations help recreate complex scenarios for preparation and training.
Embedded Display Development – GL Studio® supports embedded and cockpit displays used within space-related programs.
Simulation and Training Support – The platform is used across a wide range of space simulation and training programs.
Support for Commercial Spaceflight Development – DiSTI positions its expertise and GL Studio® capabilities as helping organizations improve programs and accelerate development within the growing commercial spaceflight sector.

By supporting prototyping, embedded displays, avionics, telemetry, and realistic simulation, GL Studio® provides a development foundation for several of the interface and training requirements involved in modern space programs.

Core GL Studio® Capabilities That Enable These Benefits

The value GL Studio® brings across different HMI environments comes from a core set of capabilities designed around performance, reuse, visualization, and efficient deployment. Together, these capabilities help teams build and manage complex interfaces with greater consistency across development stages.

High-Performance Native C++ Runtime – Supports efficient CPU utilization, fast startup, and responsive runtime performance.
Advanced 2D and 3D Graphics – Enables instrumentation, animation, multi-touch interaction, and high-fidelity visualization.
Reusable and Modular Architecture – Allows application code, custom packages, plug-ins, and graphical assets to be reused across projects.
Faster Development and Deployment – Combines drag-and-drop development, instant preview and testing, and OneTouch Deployment™ to streamline the development workflow.
Safety-Critical Development Support – Provides capabilities suited to programs where reliability, performance, and certification requirements are essential.
Lifecycle Flexibility – Helps teams accommodate changing platforms, technologies, and application requirements throughout the product lifecycle.

Together, these capabilities give GL Studio® the flexibility to support demanding HMI programs while helping teams maintain performance, reuse, and development efficiency as system requirements evolve.

Conclusion

As HMI requirements become more advanced across automotive, aviation, defense, and space, development teams need tools that can balance performance, visual fidelity, safety, reuse, and efficient deployment. GL Studio® brings these capabilities together through native C++ performance, real-time 2D and 3D graphics, modular development, rapid testing, and support for demanding embedded environments.

Beyond embedded HMI development, DiSTI also supports simulation and virtual training solutions that help organizations prepare people and systems for complex real-world environments. Together, these capabilities position GL Studio® as a versatile HMI development tool for developing interactive interfaces, embedded displays, instrumentation, simulation, and training experiences across diverse programs. For more details on GL Studio® and its capabilities, visit the GL Studio® page.