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UK tech firm Improbable has unveiled SpatialOS, a new distributed operating system that will help developers build bigger worlds than ever.
The London-based start-up is already using the technology to help power Bossa Studios’ ambitious open-world title Worlds Adrift as well as Ion, the new game from Day Z creator Dean Hall.
Announced and detailed at the 2015 Slush festival in Finland today, SpatialOS works as a cloud-based infrastructure service using thousands of servers to create real-time simulations of large and detailed virtual worlds.
Improbable is confident that not only can this be used in games development, but it also has real-world applications, including city management, economics and defence. In fact, the firm is collaborating with academics and city planners to build a fully working model of an entire city using SpatialOS.
The technology also enables developers to publish their simulations on anything from smart devices to VR headsets.
Improbable is inviting devs to sign up for the technology now. You can register your interest and find out more via www.improbable.io.
“Futurists talk about ‘strong AI’ as the moment where Artificial Intelligence stops being a useful tool and instead transforms the world. We view strong simulation as the same kind of transformation for simulation technology.” said CEOHerman Narula.
“To really understand the complex systems that drive our world we need to move from just looking at patterns in past data to actually recreating the world with powerful simulations. To unlock the promise of virtual reality, we need to move from simple games to true virtual worlds.
“However, powerful simulation has always been hindered by the inability of developers to integrate and scale existing models easily, or to run them at massive scale or in real time. SpatialOS solves that problem and will make simulation a ubiquitous technology.”
