Leading technology giants, including Pixar, Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, and NVIDIA, have joined forces with the Joint Development Foundation (JDF), an affiliate of the Linux Foundation, to form the Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD). The aim of this collaboration is to promote the standardization, development, evolution, and growth of Pixar’s Universal Scene Description (USD) technology.
OpenUSD is a powerful 3D scene description technology developed by Pixar Animation Studios. It enables interoperability across tools, data, and workflows, making it ideal for collaborative artistic expression and streamlined cinematic content production. OpenUSD has already made waves in the film, visual effects, and animation industries, but the alliance believes that its capabilities can extend to other industries and applications as well.
One of the main goals of AOUSD is to develop written specifications that clearly define the features of OpenUSD. These specifications will enable greater compatibility, wider adoption, integration, and implementation. Furthermore, they will allow other standards bodies to include OpenUSD in their own specifications. To facilitate the development of these specifications, the alliance has chosen the Linux Foundation’s JDF as the project host. This decision ensures open, efficient, and effective development while providing a path to international recognition through the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
In addition to defining the specifications, AOUSD will serve as the primary forum for industry collaboration on enhancing the technology. The alliance invites a broad range of companies and organizations to join and participate in shaping the future of OpenUSD. This collaborative effort will help ensure that OpenUSD evolves according to the needs of the industry and remains a cutting-edge technology in the 3D ecosystem.
Steve May, Chief Technology Officer at Pixar and Chairperson of AOUSD, emphasized the significance of Universal Scene Description: “Universal Scene Description was invented at Pixar and is the technological foundation of our state-of-the-art animation pipeline. We open-sourced the project in 2016, and the influence of OpenUSD now expands beyond film, visual effects, and animation and into other industries that increasingly rely on 3D data for media interchange. With the announcement of AOUSD, we signal the exciting next step: the continued evolution of OpenUSD as a technology and its position as an international standard.”
The alliance members also expressed their enthusiasm for OpenUSD and its potential impact in their respective domains. Guido Quaroni, Senior Director of Engineering, 3D&I at Adobe, highlighted the value of a common 3D data representation during the creative process. He believes that OpenUSD can act as a multiplier for artists using different tools and devices. Mike Rockwell, Apple’s Vice President of the Vision Products Group, stated that OpenUSD will accelerate the next generation of augmented reality experiences and is an essential technology for Apple’s visionOS platform and Reality Composer Pro developer tool. Gordon Bradley, Fellow, Media & Entertainment, Autodesk, emphasized the need for cohesive collaboration and data sharing across tools, services, and platforms to enable content creation in various domains. Guy Martin, Director of Open Source and Standards at NVIDIA, sees OpenUSD as the complete foundation for tackling large-scale industrial, digital content creation, and simulation workloads with multi-app interoperability.
The AOUSD steering committee members will be presenting at the Academy Software Foundation’s Open Source Days on August 6 and at the Autodesk Vision Series during the SIGGRAPH conference on August 8, 2023. These events will provide opportunities to learn more about the alliance, its goals, and how to get involved.
It is clear that the formation of the Alliance for OpenUSD is a significant step towards standardizing the 3D ecosystem by advancing the capabilities of OpenUSD. By promoting interoperability and collaboration, this alliance will empower developers and content creators to work on large-scale 3D projects more effectively and build a wider range of 3D-enabled products and services. With the support of leading technology companies, OpenUSD is poised to become an international standard that revolutionizes various industries and applications reliant on 3D data.
Pixar, Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, NVIDIA form Alliance for OpenUSD
Popular News
-
The Enigmatic World of SHL0MS and the Nothing Coin
-
George R.R. Martin and other authors sue OpenAI for copyright infringement
-
BREAKING: Police ID Gunman in Ohio Walmart Shooting; Bodycam Released
-
Queer Eye’s Antoni Porowski Splits From Kevin Harrington, End Engagement
-
The Morning After: Tesla jailbreak could enable Full Self-Driving for free
