PhysX is fast approaching its 20th birthday, and Nvidia just announced version 5.0 of its open source real-time physics middleware.
The new software development kit (SDK) allowing developers to take full advantage of PhysX 5.0 is set to be appear in early 2020. It brings with it a number of key new features allowing for more realistic physics simulation, which game developers in particular will be interested to experiment with.
Nvidia released the announcement video below to give us a taste of what's possible using this new version of PhysX. We await a more detailed video full of examples to really see what it can do.
Nvidia is promising support for a unified constrained particle simulation framework and focuses in on three key new features for the announcement. The first is called the Finite Element Model (FEM), which is an "industry-standard simulation technique for deformable bodies." It's of great use for simulating the structural strength of objects, be they rigid or soft, and therefore very useful to the automotive industry.
Second is liquid simulation, which sounds like it will be greatly improved. PhysX 5.0 allows for fluid and granular flow using discrete particles, but also takes advantage of the Discrete Element Model (DEM) to introduce friction and adhesion if required. Smoother Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) is also supported, allowing for more realistic ocean simulation, for example. Regardless of the type of liquid and its properties, it sounds like PhysX 5.0 will do a better job of realistically simulating it thanks to SPH.
Finally arbitrary meshes combined with the constrained particle model allow for cloth and rope simulation. However, the mesh system extends to allow for realistic inflatable shapes, "mass-spring systems," aerodynamic lift and drag, as well as run-time deformations of rigid structures.
Nvidia open sourced PhysX in December last year and continues to develop the middleware. Expect more details (and hopefully lots of demos) as the launch of the PhysX 5.0 SDK draws ever closer.