PhysX
PhysX is a physics engine middleware developed by NVIDIA, initially introduced as a proprietary technology to enhance the realism of physics simulations in video games and other real-time applications. Here are some key points about PhysX:
History
- Origin: PhysX began as NovodeX, developed by Ageia Technologies in 2004. Ageia was focused on creating hardware to accelerate physics calculations for games.
- Acquisition: In 2006, NVIDIA acquired Ageia, integrating their technology into the NVIDIA platform, rebranding it as PhysX.
- Open Sourcing: In 2014, NVIDIA open-sourced PhysX under a BSD-3 license, allowing developers to freely use, modify, and distribute the engine.
Features and Capabilities
- Realistic Physics Simulations: PhysX provides tools for simulating rigid body dynamics, cloth, fluids, soft body dynamics, and more, offering developers the ability to create more interactive and realistic environments.
- Multi-Threading: PhysX supports multi-threading to utilize modern multi-core CPUs efficiently.
- APEX: NVIDIA APEX is an extension of PhysX, providing additional tools for creating destructible environments, particle effects, and clothing simulation.
- Hardware Acceleration: Originally designed for use with Ageia's PhysX cards, PhysX can now be accelerated by NVIDIA GPUs, although it also runs on any compatible GPU or CPU.
Usage and Impact
- Gaming Industry: PhysX has been widely adopted in the gaming industry, enhancing the gameplay experience in titles like Batman: Arkham Asylum, Mafia II, and Borderlands 2 by simulating complex physical interactions.
- Other Applications: Beyond gaming, PhysX is used in film VFX, architectural visualization, and any application requiring real-time physics simulation.
Technical Details
- Architecture: PhysX uses a scene-graph based architecture where objects in the simulation are organized into a hierarchical structure, facilitating complex interactions.
- APIs: Developers can access PhysX through C++ APIs, with bindings available for other languages like C#, Python, and Lua.
- Integration: PhysX can be integrated with various graphics engines and game development frameworks like Unreal Engine and Unity.
External Links
See Also