Innovation: Physics brings realism to virtual reality

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Source: New Scientist
Colin Barras

Computer games have come a long way from the pixelated graphics of the 1980s to the more polished characters of today. But the inexorable creep of Moore's Law has now taken us to the brink of further giant changes.

The latest multi-core processors and some smart software allow techniques used by physicists and engineers to simulate the real world in extreme detail to be used to create virtual worlds governed by real physics, rather than the simplified versions used today.

The video above shows how the results are streets ahead of the standard graphics of today. One expert evens predicts that such techniques could be used to create Matrix-like virtual worlds indistinguishable from reality within just a few years.

Shooting rays
A centuries old physics technique called ray tracing, used to calculate how rays of light would behave in a particular environment, is one method receiving much attention.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17389-innovation-physics-brings-realism-to-virtual-reality.html