CPU cores for FPGAs have been available for years. I got into FPGAs in 2011 (as I co-developed the first open source Bitcoin mining hardware) and the "soft CPU" scene was already pretty established. For example, the Altera kit I got that summer included specific instructions and ready-made tools for making an embedded system with a CPU.
Also, realtime raytracing isn't some magical feat per se, I've coded my own examples [instagram.com] in plain OpenGL. Of course, the "realtime" aspect depends on the scene and the detail etc. you want to achieve.
I skimmed through the article and I found some other details much more interesting. For example, reusing FPGA boards from throwaway devices for development uses. (Back in my Bitcoin FPGA days, someone donated me a bunch of Spartan3 boards, not particularly strong by themselves but nice for my cluster miner experiments. Thanks Jonas!)
Pfft (Score:2)
CPU cores for FPGAs have been available for years. I got into FPGAs in 2011 (as I co-developed the first open source Bitcoin mining hardware) and the "soft CPU" scene was already pretty established. For example, the Altera kit I got that summer included specific instructions and ready-made tools for making an embedded system with a CPU.
Also, realtime raytracing isn't some magical feat per se, I've coded my own examples [instagram.com] in plain OpenGL. Of course, the "realtime" aspect depends on the scene and the detail etc. you want to achieve.
I skimmed through the article and I found some other details much more interesting. For example, reusing FPGA boards from throwaway devices for development uses. (Back in my Bitcoin FPGA days, someone donated me a bunch of Spartan3 boards, not particularly strong by themselves but nice for my cluster miner experiments. Thanks Jonas!)