Leading Industry Giants Pixar, Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, and NVIDIA Join Forces to Establish Alliance for OpenUSD, Pioneering Open Standards in 3D Content

A consortium comprised of Pixar, Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, and NVIDIA, in partnership with the Joint Development Foundation (JDF), an affiliate of the Linux Foundation, has officially unveiled the Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD). This strategic collaboration aims to spearhead the standardization, advancement, evolution, and expansion of Pixar's groundbreaking Universal Scene Description technology.

The core objective of the alliance is to establish a standardized 3D ecosystem by elevating the capabilities of Open Universal Scene Description (OpenUSD). Through the promotion of enhanced interoperability among 3D tools and data, the alliance intends to empower developers and content creators to seamlessly conceptualize, compose, and simulate intricate 3D projects. The broader aim is to catalyze the development of an increasingly diverse spectrum of 3D-enabled products and services.OpenUSD, conceived by Pixar Animation Studios, serves as a high-performance 3D scene description technology renowned for its robust interoperability spanning tools, data, and workflows. Recognized for its capacity to capture artistic expression collaboratively and streamline the production of cinematic content, OpenUSD's versatility positions it as a pivotal platform capable of meeting the demands of emerging industries and applications.

The alliance will collaborate on crafting comprehensive specifications outlining the attributes of OpenUSD. This approach fosters enhanced compatibility, broader adoption, seamless integration, and widespread implementation, ensuring potential incorporation by other standards organizations into their specifications. The Linux Foundation's JDF was selected as the steward of the project due to its ability to facilitate open, efficient, and effective OpenUSD specification development while offering a pathway for recognition through the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).AOUSD will also serve as the primary platform for collective discussions regarding enhancements to the technology, encouraging broader industry participation.

The alliance extends an invitation to a diverse array of companies and organizations to join forces in shaping the future trajectory of OpenUSD.Steve May, Chief Technology Officer at Pixar and Chairperson of AOUSD, emphasized the significance of Universal Scene Description: "Universal Scene Description was pioneered at Pixar and underpins our cutting-edge animation pipeline. OpenUSD, born out of years of research and application in Pixar filmmaking, has transcended its origins, permeating diverse industries reliant on 3D data interchange. With the launch of AOUSD, we mark an exciting milestone: the continued evolution of OpenUSD as a technological force and its elevation to an international standard.

Guido Quaroni, Senior Director of Engineering, 3D&I at Adobe, echoed the sentiment: "At Adobe, we are committed to equipping artists with flexible, powerful solutions across various devices. Leveraging a unified 3D data representation during the creative process enhances the value of each package and device. OpenUSD embodies this concept of 'multipliers,' and we are enthused to witness an array of companies uniting to support this innovative and open technology. Mike Rockwell, Apple's vice president of the Vision Products Group, emphasized the role of OpenUSD in accelerating the next generation of augmented reality experiences: OpenUSD is poised to propel the evolution of AR experiences, spanning artistic creation to content delivery, and engendering a diverse range of spatial computing applications.

Apple has actively contributed to USD's development, with the technology being pivotal to our groundbreaking visionOS platform and the new Reality Composer Pro developer tool. We anticipate nurturing its expansion into a universally embraced standard. Gordon Bradley, Fellow, Media & Entertainment, Autodesk, highlighted the imperative for seamless collaboration and data sharing in content creation: "Whether building CG worlds, digital twins, or envisioning the 3D web, content creators require a cohesive mechanism to collaborate and share data across tools, services, and platforms. Autodesk is enthusiastic about supporting the Alliance for OpenUSD as it drives 3D interoperability for visual effects, animation, and beyond, aligning with our commitment to assist customers in designing and creating a better world.

Guy Martin, Director of Open Source and Standards at NVIDIA, emphasized OpenUSD's potential to address substantial workloads: "OpenUSD equips 3D developers, artists, and designers with a robust foundation to tackle extensive industrial, digital content creation, and simulation tasks through broad multi-app interoperability. This alliance offers a distinctive avenue to expedite global OpenUSD collaboration, crafting formal standards across industries and initiatives to realize intricate 3D realms and drive industrial digitalization.

For more information please visit https://aousd.org/