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Apple partner ARM acquires graphics software firm Geomerics

In a bid to bolster the graphics capability of its low-power processors, ARM on Friday announced the acquisition of Geomerics, makers of realtime lighting effects technology used in PC and console gaming.


A 3D scene lit with Geomerics Enlighten

Geomerics —  based, like ARM, in Cambridge, England —  is the maker of Enlighten, a product that game companies can integrate into a game's rendering engine to provide dynamic radiosity calculation. Radiosity is a method used to create the effect of "global illumination" — that is, taking into account not only light beams coming directly from a light source, called "direct illumination," but also the reflection of the beams off of other objects when rendering a 3D scene.

Take, for instance, a room with a single spotlight focused on a prism. To achieve the "beam splitting" effect of the prism with direct illumination would require a second light source within the prim itself. With global illumination, the prism's refraction is calculated based on the light it receives from the spotlight, making for a far more realistic scene.

Enlighten enables rendering engines to create these effects in realtime, an achievement which Geomerics says is an industry first. Enlighten has been used extensively in AAA titles from megapublisher Electronic Arts like Battlefield 3 and 4, and Need for Speed Rivals.

Terms of the deal were not made available, but ARM did say the plan is to allow Geomerics to continue running as a separate company, while at the same time integrating Geomerics intellectual property into future ARM designs.

"Being part of ARM will allow us to accelerate our advanced developments for console and mobile platforms while also providing us with unmatched insights into the platforms and devices of tomorrow," Geomerics COO Chris Doran said in a statement.

ARM, which is best known for its power-sipping CPU designs that sit at the heart of application processors like Apple's A-series chips, has worked to upgrade its processors' graphics capability in recent years in the face of competition from companies like Imagination Technologies and nVidia. Apple's A7, for example, pairs ARM CPU cores with a GPU from Imagination Technologies rather than ARM's own Mali GPU line.



8 Comments

awilliams87 12 Years · 264 comments

"Apple's A7, for example, pairs ARM CPU cores with a GPU from Imagination Technologies" That's not accurate. Apple licensed ARM's ARMv8 instruction set to create their own custom CPU cores in the A7. Only the A5 and A4 used ARM designed cores.

thepixeldoc 18 Years · 2252 comments

I think it should be mentioned again for some that don't know, that Apple was instrumental in creating this company in 1990. According to the [URL=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_Holdings]Wiki page[/URL], "Apple's shareholding had fallen to 14.8% by February 1999" . I did a quick G-search, and couldn't determine whether they're still a nominal investor or if they've divested themselves and are only a licensee. Anyone else know?

awilliams87 12 Years · 264 comments

They sold off some in the 90's and sold off their remaining investment in 2003.

applesauce007 18 Years · 1707 comments

Quote:
Originally Posted by AWilliams87 

"Apple's A7, for example, pairs ARM CPU cores with a GPU from Imagination Technologies"

That's not accurate. Apple licensed ARM's ARMv8 instruction set to create their own custom CPU cores in the A7. Only the A5 and A4 used ARM designed cores.

Interesting...  I didn't know that they only use the ARM instruction set for compatibility on top of their own cores design.

Wow, the A7 is really a different beast.  No wonder it blows everything else away.

damn_its_hot 16 Years · 1213 comments

Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleSauce007 
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by AWilliams87 

"Apple's A7, for example, pairs ARM CPU cores with a GPU from Imagination Technologies"

That's not accurate. Apple licensed ARM's ARMv8 instruction set to create their own custom CPU cores in the A7. Only the A5 and A4 used ARM designed cores.

Interesting...  I didn't know that they only use the ARM instruction set for compatibility on top of their own cores design.

Wow, the A7 is really a different beast.  No wonder it blows everything else away.

 

Actually ARM only licenses designs, there is no ARM chip, they are ALL fab'd by others. Apple licensed the core then did some cutting out of a bunch of stuff they did not need and replaced some other stuff like the power mgmt stuff and other proprietary technology. So it uses an ARM core design but supplements it heavily.