Into the Omniverse: Groundbreaking OpenUSD Advancements Put NVIDIA GTC Spotlight on Developers

Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on how artists, developers and enterprises can transform their workflows using the latest advances in OpenUSD and NVIDIA Omniverse.

The Universal Scene Description framework, aka OpenUSD, has emerged as a game-changer for building virtual worlds and accelerating creative workflows. It can ease the handling of complex datasets, facilitate collaboration and enable seamless interoperability between 3D applications.

The latest news and demos from NVIDIA GTC, a global AI conference that ran last week, put on display the power developers gain from NVIDIA Omniverse - a platform of application programming interfaces (APIs) and software development kits (SDKs) that enable them to build 3D pipelines, tools, applications and services.

Newly announced NVIDIA Omniverse Cloud APIs, coming first to Microsoft Azure, allow developers to send their OpenUSD industrial scenes from content-creation applications to the NVIDIA Graphics Delivery Network.

Such a workflow was showcased in a demo featuring an interactive car configurator application, developed by computer-generated-imagery studio Katana using Omniverse, streamed in full fidelity to an Apple Vision Pro's high-resolution display. A designer wearing the Vision Pro toggled through paint and trim options, and even entered the vehicle.

In a separate demo, Dassault Systèmes showcased, using its 3DEXCITE portfolio, a powerful web-based application for 3D data preparation supercharged with NVIDIA AI and Omniverse Cloud APIs to deliver new generative storytelling capabilities.

OpenUSD also played a part in the announcement of NVIDIA's latest AI supercomputer, a powerful cluster based on the NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 liquid-cooled system, which was showcased as a digital twin in Omniverse.

Engineers unified and visualized multiple computer-aided design datasets with full physical accuracy and photorealism using OpenUSD through the Cadence Reality digital twin platform, powered by Omniverse APIs. The technologies together provided a powerful computing platform for developing OpenUSD-based 3D tools, workflows and applications.

Siemens announced it has integrated OpenUSD into its Xcelerator platform applications via Omniverse Cloud APIs, enabling its customers to unify their 3D data and services in digital twins with physically based rendering.

A demo showcased how ship manufacturer HD Hyundai used Siemens' Teamcenter X, which is part of Xcelerator, to design digital twins of complex engineering projects, delivering accelerated collaboration, minimized workflow waste, time and cost savings, and reduced manufacturing defects.

OpenUSD Ecosystem Updates on Replay

The latest OpenUSD ecosystem updates shared at GTC include:

• Ansys is adopting OpenUSD and Omniverse Cloud APIs to enable data interoperability and NVIDIA RTX visualization in technologies such as Ansys AVxcelerate for autonomous vehicles, Ansys Perceive EM for 6G simulation, and NVIDIA-accelerated solvers such as Ansys Fluent.
• Dassault Systèmes is using OpenUSD, Omniverse Cloud APIs and Shutterstock 3D AI Services for generative storytelling in 3DEXCITE applications.
• Continental is developing an OpenUSD-based digital twin platform to optimize factory operations and speed time to market.
• Hexagon is integrating reality-capture sensors and digital-reality platforms with OpenUSD and Omniverse Cloud APIs for hyperrealistic simulation and visualization.
• Media.Monks is adopting Omniverse for a generative AI- and OpenUSD-enabled content-creation pipeline for scalable hyper-personalization.
• Microsoftis integrating Omniverse Cloud APIs with Microsoft Power BI, so factory operators can see real-time factory data overlaid on a 3D digital twin to speed up production.
• Rockwell Automation is using OpenUSD and Omniverse Cloud APIs for RTX-enabled visualization in industrial automation and digital transformation.
• Trimble is enabling interactive NVIDIA Omniverse RTX viewers with Trimble model data using OpenUSD and Omniverse Cloud APIs.
• Wistron is building OpenUSD-based digital twins of NVIDIA DGX and HGX factories using custom software developed with Omniverse SDKs and APIs.
• WPP is expanding its Omniverse Cloud-based OpenUSD and generative AI content-generation engine to the retail and consumer packaged goods sector.

Get Plugged In to the World of OpenUSD

Several GTC sessions expanded on the latest OpenUSD advancements. Register free to watch them on demand:

• The Big Bang of OpenUSD: Hear from technical luminaries at Pixar, Adobe, Apple, Autodesk and NVIDIA on the potential of OpenUSD.
• An Introduction to OpenUSD: Learn why OpenUSD is more than just a file format and how it can revolutionize 3D workflows.
• Mastering USD and Adobe Substance 3D: Learn how to master real-world material capture, seamlessly integrate workflows with OpenUSD and enhance realism with Adobe Substance 3D.
• Enabling 3D Geospatial Workflows for Industrial Digital Twins: Learn how Cesium is using OpenUSD to enable high-fidelity streaming and rendering for global-scale digital twins.
• Digitalizing the World's Largest Industries With OpenUSD and Generative AI: Explore how global industries are becoming software-defined.

Get started with NVIDIA Omniverse by downloading the standard license free, access OpenUSD resources, and learn how Omniverse Enterprisecan connect your team. Stay up to date on Instagram, Medium and X. For more, join the Omniverse community on the forums, Discord server, Twitch and YouTube channels.

Featured image courtesy of Siemens, HD Hyundai.

Categories: Pro Graphics

Tags: Digital Twin | GTC 2024 | Into the Omniverse | Omniverse | Universal Scene Description