| Vector math processors have, up until recently, been in the domain of
the supercomputer, such as the Cray computers. Computers that have
recently joined this realm are the Apple Velocity Engine (AltiVec)
coprocessor of the PowerPC G4 in Macintosh and UNIX computers, as
well as IBM’s Power PC-based Gekko used in the GameCube and Digital
Signal Processing Systems (DSP). MIPS processors, such as the
Toshiba TX-79, and the Emotion Engine (EE) and Vector Units (VUs)
used in the Sony PlayStation 2 are also in this group. The X86 processors,
such as Intel’s Pentium III used in the Xbox, and all other X86s
including the Pentium IV and AMD’s 3DNow! extension instructions
used in PCs are other recent additions. Both fixed-point as well as floating-
point math is being used by the computer, video gaming, and
embedded worlds in vector-based operations.
3D graphic rendering hardware has been going through major
increases in the numbers of polygons that can be handled by using
geometry engines as part of their rendering hardware to accelerate the
speed of mathematical calculations. There is also the recent introduction
of the programmable vertex and pixel shaders built into newer
video cards that use this same vector functionality. These work well for
rendering polygons with textures, depth ordering z-buffers or w-buffers,
and translucency-controlled alpha channels with lighting, perspective
correction, etc. at relatively high rates of speed. The problem is that
the burden of all the other 3D processing, culling, transformations, rotations,
etc. are put on the computer’s central processing unit (CPU),
which is needed for artificial intelligence (AI), terrain following, landscape
management, property management, sound, etc.Well, you get the
idea. For those of you looking for work, keep in mind that this new technology
has created a surplus of processor power that is being filled with
the new high-growth occupation of AI and physics programmers. |
