Alion, AGEIA join forces for simulation work

Alion Science and Technology Corp. and AGEIA Technologies Inc., a maker of hardware-accelerated physics for computer games, have forged a partnership to pursue simulations and training opportunities with the military.

The purpose of the partnership is to provide Alion's customers with integration of AGEIA's PhysX technology into Delta3D Open Source Engine to enable real-time motion and interaction for simulations and training purposes.

PhysX technology is used to power video games, including Microsoft Corp.'s X-Box 360 and Sony Corp.'s Playstation 3. The Delta3D project is an open source game engine that supports a variety of Defense Department modeling and simulation applications.

Alion will distribute the PhysX runtimes, software development kit and application programming interface as part of the Delta3D project. Delta3D users will be able to add physics capabilities to their Delta3D open source applications without additional royalties or separate licensing agreements, Alion said.

"Through Alion's partnership with AGEIA, the Defense Department will have access to one of the best physics engines available, and it can be used free of charge," said Dick Brooks, Alion's National Security Group manager. "This further promotes the value of Delta3D open source environment throughout the Defense Department, providing programs with superior technology without the cost and vendor lock that usually accompanies technology adoption."

Privately held Alion of McLean, Va., has 3,700 employees. The company ranks No. 57 on Washington Technology's 2006 Top 100 list of the largest federal IT contractors.

Privately held AGEIA is based in Mountain View, Calif.