VOLK is the Vector-Optimized Library of Kernels. It is a free
library, currently offered under the GPLv3, that contains kernels of
hand-written SIMD code for different mathematical operations. Since
each SIMD architecture can be very different and no compiler has yet
come along to handle vectorization properly or highly efficiently,
VOLK approaches the problem differently.

For each architecture or platform that a developer wishes to vectorize
for, a new proto-kernel is added to VOLK. At runtime, VOLK will
select the correct proto-kernel. In this way, the users of VOLK call
a kernel for performing the operation that is platform/architecture
agnostic. This allows us to write portable SIMD code that is optimized
for a variety of platforms.

VOLK was introduced as a part of GNU Radio in late 2010 based on
code released in the public domain. In 2015 it was released as an
independent library for use by a wider audience.