Earlier this month, Nvidia announced that the GPU source code for its PhysX SDK is now available as open source. Previously, while the PhysX SDK had been released under the BSD-3 license in 2018, the GPU simulation kernel source code had not been included.
The new release adds access to over 500 CUDA kernels, which enable features like rigid body dynamics, fluid simulation, and deformable objects. Nvidia's goal with this release is to support learning, experimentation, and development within the technology community.
Additionally, Nvidia has made the GPU compute shader implementation of its Flow SDK open source. This is a real-time, sparse grid-based fluid simulation library, which will provide developers with more resources for fluid modeling and simulation projects.
By releasing these resources, Nvidia aims to encourage collaboration and innovation in GPU-accelerated computing and simulation. Developers and researchers now have more tools to push the boundaries of what is possible in these fields.
Adam Moravanszky, the senior director for simulation technology at Nvidia, wrote:
Since the release of PhysX SDK 4.0 in December 2018, Nvidia PhysX has been available as open source under the BSD-3 license—with one key exception: the GPU simulation kernel source code was not included.
That changes today.
We’re excited to share that the latest update to the PhysX SDK now includes all the GPU source code, fully licensed under BSD-3!
With over 500 CUDA kernels powering features such as rigid body dynamics, fluid simulation, and deformable objects, GPU PhysX represents one of the most advanced real-time simulation use cases of CUDA and GPU programming. We hope this release will be a valuable resource for learning, experimentation, and development across the community.
In addition, we’re also open-sourcing the full GPU compute shader implementation of the Flow SDK, our real-time, sparse grid–based fluid simulation library.
We can’t wait to see what you build with it.
For the unfamiliar, Nvidia's PhysX, originally developed by NovodeX, is a real-time physics simulation engine, used for creating realistic motion and interactions in applications like gaming and robotics. It handles rigid body dynamics, deformable objects, and fluid simulations. Meanwhile, Flow, also by Nvidia, is a specialized library for fluid and gas simulations using sparse grids. Both tools complement each other in simulating physical phenomena, with Flow focusing on fluids and gases while PhysX provides a broader scope, including rigid body and object dynamics.
You can find the announcement post here on the official PhysX GitHub repo.
This article was generated with some help from AI and reviewed by an editor.
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