Pixar, Adobe, Apple, Autodesk and NVIDIA, together with the Joint Development Foundation (JDF), an affiliate of the Linux Foundation, today announced the Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD) to promote the standardization, development, evolution and growth of Pixar’s Universal Scene Description technology.
The alliance seeks to standardize the 3D ecosystem by advancing the capabilities of Open Universal Scene Description (OpenUSD). By promoting greater interoperability of 3D tools and data, the alliance will enable developers and content creators to describe, compose and simulate large-scale 3D projects and build an ever-widening range of 3D-enabled products and services.
Created by Pixar Animation Studios, OpenUSD is a high-performance 3D scene description technology that offers robust interoperability across tools, data and workflows. Already known for its ability to collaboratively capture artistic expression and streamline cinematic content production, OpenUSD’s power and flexibility make it an ideal content platform to embrace the needs of new industries and applications.
“Universal Scene Description was invented at Pixar and is the technological foundation of our state-of-the-art animation pipeline,” said Steve May, Chief Technology Officer at Pixar and Chairperson of AOUSD. “OpenUSD is based on years of research and application in Pixar filmmaking. 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 will develop written specifications detailing the features of OpenUSD. This will enable greater compatibility and wider adoption, integration and implementation, and allows inclusion by other standards bodies into their specifications. The Linux Foundation’s JDF was chosen to house the project, as it will enable open, efficient, and effective development of OpenUSD specifications, while providing a path to recognition through the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
AOUSD will also provide the primary forum for the collaborative definition of enhancements to the technology by the greater industry. The alliance invites a broad range of companies and organizations to join and participate in shaping the future of OpenUSD.
AOUSD steering committee members will be speaking at both the Academy Software Foundation’s Open Source Days on August 6 (watch view the website) and at the SIGGRAPH conference in Los Angeles at the Autodesk Vision Series on August 8 at 1 p.m. PT in Room 404A.
“We are excited to support the launch of the AOUSD and efforts to standardize OpenUSD,” said ASF Executive Director David Morin. “The Academy Software Foundation’s thriving 800+ member USD Working Group focuses on sharing best practices for deployment of USD technologies and providing vetted solutions for common USD issues and will serve as a liaison with the AOUSD. We look forward to working with the AOUSD to represent the interests, ideas and techniques developed by our communities for use in the motion picture industry.”
To learn more about AOUSD and how to get involved, visit aousd.org.
