PHILIPS announces amBX
Philips today introduced amBX – a technology that they think will revolutionize the gaming experience and extend the gaming world out of the screen and into the real world.
Due for release in May 2006 and coming from the Surrey-based Philips amBX Group, these guys claim amBX is a step towards a full 'sensory surround experience' and enabled games will provide gamers with the ability to use light, colour, sound, heat and even airflow in the real world during gameplay.
Philips are talking about having all the devices in your room amBX-enabled. They say this’ll mean the treacherous road to Saigon will turn your room jungle green, swimming with dolphins will splash it deep blue, 'Halo' jumps will turn your fans on full, lightning storms will strobe your white lighting, and attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion will blast on your heaters.
Click for larger imageIncorporating a scripting language, software engine and architecture, amBX has been designed to deliver all-new player experiences through enabled devices such as LED colour-controlled lights, active furniture, fans, heaters, audio and video, which are all placed in the user's room. amBX goes even further to provide the support framework for peripheral manufacturers to develop these enabled products, empowering both developers and publishers to amBX-enable and enhance their games. In the future, game players may even be able to author and share their own personal amBX experiences online.
Click for larger imageWith many gamers running a home network, amBX has made use of this by allowing content authors a language in which to describe and recreate experiences in an Ambient Intelligent Environment. Within a location the devices controlled by the amBX language act as parts of a browser. Together they render the experience and the player's room, in effect, becomes the browser.
Said, Jo Cooke, Chief Marketing Officer, Philips amBX:
"For games creators this is a fantastic opportunity: amBX expands the immersive experience by bringing the real world environment into the gameplay. The creative possibilities, using this technology, for the games industry and beyond are immense."
Click for larger imageThrough amBX, Philips has forged a common language for the creation, distribution and sharing of totally new experiences and the launch into the games industry, they hope, will be the start of a shock wave that will boom across film, music and mass market entertainment as a whole.
Philips is currently in the advanced stages of talks with a number of leading computer games developers and peripheral manufacturers regarding amBX-enabling leading games and devices, and will be officially launching the technology to the market in May 2006.
