Ageia was a company that pioneered the development of physics chip technology for gaming. They released the PhysX chip in 2005.
This technology allowed for more realistic simulations in games, including destructible environments and complex physics interactions.
The PhysX chip was designed to handle complex physics calculations in real-time, making it an essential component for next-generation gaming.
Physics Processors for Gaming
Ageia introduces physics processors for gaming, a dedicated "physics processing unit" (PPU) designed to work in conjunction with games that use Ageia's physics engine.
The PhysX processor is expected to start hitting retail store shelves in May, 2006, in the form of add-in boards.
Hardware-based physics processing represents a new trend in gaming, allowing for dramatically more realistic real-time physics effects, including smoke, particle effects, and dynamic physical motion.
Recent advancements from Ageia and rival Havok aim to change the way games are developed, placing the load of physics effects on hardware rather than the CPU or graphics chip.
Ageia's approach is to license a physics engine to game manufacturers that's scalable to both software and hardware, and to produce a PPU that can then accelerate physics effects.
The company expects more than 100 games supporting the PhysX processor to be in development from companies including Ubisoft, Epic Games, and others.
Nvidia Acquisition
Nvidia snapped up Ageia on Monday, with plans to add Ageia's PhysX technology to its GeForce graphics chips.
The PhysX chip can be found in all three of the modern gaming consoles--Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and the Wii--as well as in add-in cards for PC gaming.
Developers have to write their games with the processor in mind to unlock the performance, and Over 140 titles are available for consoles and PCs that support the PhysX technology.
Ageia describes the role of the PhysX processor as part of the "Gaming Power Triangle", which consists of the CPU, a GPU from either Nvidia or AMD's ATI, and the PhysX "physics processing unit."
The PhysX processor was required to simulate events like explosions and smoke or fog because the processing power needed is immense.
Nvidia plans to integrate the PhysX technology into one of its GeForce graphics chips "as soon as possible", according to Derek Perez of Nvidia.
For more insights, see: Nvidia
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