ARM, a processor design firm, announced its acquisition of graphics and lighting tech for games maker Geomerics. The acquisition of Geomerics was deemed strategic on ARM's part, as it seeks to expand its reach into the hardcore graphics technology niche. The Cambridge, England-based company intends to move into visual computing as the niche market is complementing its supply processor designs, which is its bread-and-butter business, said VentureBeat in its report. ARM supplies processor designs to companies that make processor chips for mobile devices. Terms of the acquisition deal was not made public.
EVP and GM Media Processing Division of ARM Pete Hutton said, "The innovative technologies being developed by Geomerics are already revolutionizing the console gaming experience and are set to rapidly accelerate the transition to photo realistic graphics in mobile. Empowering Geomerics' portfolio with ARM's graphics capabilities and market reach will be transformative for the user experiences in future mobile and entertainment devices."
Geomerics the real-time global illumination technology called Enlighten. As the report explained, the technology allows the sun to produce real-life properties, like casting shawdows automatically in any landscape, in a 3D environment setting. VentureBeat added that this type of technology had allows developers of games create scenes in video games like Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4, Need for Speed Rivals, Eve Online, and Medal of Honor: Warfighter.
Geomerics chief operating office Chris Doran, "With lighting technologies developed by Geomerics, graphics artists can achieve truly realistic global illumination and other advanced lighting features in real time across multiple platforms today. This combination of ARM and Geomerics accelerates the realization of our vision to bring next generation console graphics to mobile devices. 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."
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