Unlocking the 3D Revolution: NVIDIA and Leading Companies Form Alliance for OpenUSD

NVIDIA has taken a significant step towards advancing 3D graphics, design, and simulation by partnering with Pixar, Adobe, Apple, and Autodesk to establish the Alliance for OpenUSD. This alliance aims to standardize and expand OpenUSD, an open-source framework that forms the basis of interoperable 3D applications and projects, ranging from visual effects to industrial digital twins.

Numerous prominent companies in the 3D industry have already joined as the alliance's first general members, including Cesium, Epic Games, Foundry, Hexagon, IKEA, SideFX, and Unity. By standardizing OpenUSD, its adoption will be accelerated, laying the foundation for the evolution of today's 2D internet into a fully immersive 3D web.

OpenUSD is at the core of NVIDIA Omniverse, a development platform facilitating the connection and creation of 3D tools and applications. This platform has enabled companies like Heavy.AI, Kroger, and Siemens to develop physically accurate simulations for various applications, such as factories, retail spaces, skyscrapers, and sports cars.

IKEA, for instance, sees OpenUSD as a nonproprietary format that fosters close connections within its value chain, leading to the development of more affordable home furnishing solutions. Other companies, like Hexagon, recognize the advantages of OpenUSD for cloud-based platforms, allowing them to build innovative solutions in their respective industries.

The roots of OpenUSD can be traced back to Pixar's efforts in 2012 when they began developing it as a 3D foundation for their feature films, offering seamless interoperability across data and workflows. Four years later, Pixar released it as an open-source project, welcoming contributions from the wider community.

One of OpenUSD's unique features is its layering system, facilitating real-time collaboration among users without conflicts. Different artists can work on different aspects of a scene simultaneously, enhancing productivity and creativity.

As the Alliance for OpenUSD takes shape, its initial focus will be on developing a specification that defines the core functionalities of OpenUSD. This specification will encourage the adoption of the open standard across diverse use cases. The alliance will operate under the Joint Development Foundation, ensuring that its work can evolve into industry standards recognized and adopted globally.

NVIDIA is fully committed to OpenUSD's evolution and collaboration with ecosystem partners to drive its adoption across various industries. They have detailed a roadmap for enabling OpenUSD use in architecture, engineering, manufacturing, and more, with updates to be presented at this year's SIGGRAPH conference.

To be part of this 3D future and learn more about the Alliance for OpenUSD, interested individuals can attend NVIDIA's keynote and other activities at SIGGRAPH or join the panel session hosted by the alliance at the Academy Software Foundation's Open Source Days 2023. For more information, visit the Alliance for OpenUSD's webpage and follow their social media accounts for updates.