Havok Under Intel: Physics Engine Changes Ownership

It is a pretty well known fact within certain circles that the physics engine for Second Life has been Havok Physics - and those same circles know that the same version of Havok has been used since the creation of Second Life. There was some talk of upgrading to Havok 2 in the past, but it never seemed to become concrete. If you're interested in reading a bit more on that, take a look here.

Meanwhile, Havok 5 is already out.

And something else noteworthy has happened: Intel now owns Havok.

What does all of this mean in the context of Second Life? Not much, really - all the code which would be affected by such a change is not yet [w:open source]. Even if Intel does wonderful things with Havok, it doesn't really mean anything for Second Life grid technology.

However... Projects such as OpenSim might actually be able to roll new physics versions into the server code if Intel's ownership results in better coupled processor and software development. Of course, Havok isn't open source, but the BSD License of the OpenSim project would probably work well with that.

I expect things will heat up in the physics engine arena in the next few years - but I'm not sure that Second Life users will see much of it.