Imagine being able to create a model in a popular 3D modelling program like Blender or Maya and then seeing a ray-traced rendering of it in real-time, then changing some part of it, with the changes seen immediately. Wouldn’t that be a fantastic productivity enhancement? Especially considering doing that, you must involve three or more programs and a couple of libraries. Not too long ago, no one expected to be able to do such a thing. Instead, creators spend too much time being unwilling IT grunts.

Traditionally, edits made in one program would be exported and then imported into another, often losing information in each translation, making it difficult to bring changes back. But now, using Omniverse, edits made in one program get reflected at once in all associated programs. This workflow is a realisation of the long-sought dream of consolidating the production pipeline to a single viewing and editing environment.

Omniverse consists of 5 key parts: Nucleus, Connect, Kit, Simulation, and RTX Renderer. These components, in addition to interoperable third-party digital content creation (DCC) tools and renderers — and third-party and NVIDIA-built extensions, apps, and microservices comprise the Omniverse ecosystem.

Nucleus:

It is the database and collaboration engine of the Omniverse platform. It allows various client applications, renderers, and microservices to share and modify representations of virtual worlds.

2. Connect:

It is used to build Omniverse Connectors — plugins that enable client applications to connect to Nucleus and publish and subscribe to individual assets and full worlds that provide the highest fidelity connections to Omniverse.

3. Kit:

It is a powerful modular toolkit for developers to build extensions, apps, microservices, or plugins for their ecosystem.

An Instance of an App using Omniverse Kit

4. Simulation:

It gives developers access to NVIDIA’s scalable, physically accurate world simulation, powered by NVIDIA’s core physics simulation technologies such as:

NVIDIA PhysX — an advanced physics simulator delivering high-performance rigid, deformable, and vehicle dynamics
PhysX Flow for combustible fluid, smoke and fire dynamics
PhysX Blast — for fracture and destruction.

This YouTube Video showcases Omniverse's Physics Capabilities.

5. RTX Renderer:

Omniverse also features an advanced, multi-GPU scalable renderer accelerated by RTX technology. End users can easily toggle between a real-time ray-traced mode for ultra-fast interactive performance and referenced path-traced mode for final-frame cinematic quality.

This YouTube Video shows a demo of the Omniverse RTX Renderer.

Extensions:

Omniverse Extensions are small pieces of code purpose-built to achieve a specific task. Extensions are authored in Python, enabling developers of any level to build or customise their extensions. Explore an extract of the extensions available in the Omniverse platform below to see what is possible.

Apps:

Every Omniverse app, such as Omniverse Create or Omniverse View, is composed of a collection of specific Omniverse Kit Extensions. Developers can leverage extensions in building their workflows for faster time to development, with more regularly being created by NVIDIA or third parties.

Connectors:

Omniverse Connect libraries are distributed as plugins (or “Connectors”) that enable client applications to connect to Nucleus and to publish and subscribe to individual assets and full worlds. Developers can build their Connectors using the Omniverse Connect SDK, available for free in the Omniverse Launcher.

Microservices:

Services in Omniverse can be part of an Extension, use an Extension, or be a simple script executed by Omniverse Kit. Developers can easily build tools to automate repetitive tasks for themselves, or their user base, from rendering workflows, creating turntables, generating thumbnails, and synthetic data generation.

Independent or enterprise developers can easily build and sell their Extensions, Apps, Connectors, and Microservices on the Omniverse platform with the wealth of available tools and samples. Developers can achieve this by using Omniverse Code, a new Omniverse App that serves as an integrated development environment (IDE) for developers and power users to quickly build their Omniverse extensions, apps, or microservices.

Omniverse Code: The IDE for virtual worlds

See the Omniverse Developer Resource Center for additional resources, view the latest tutorials on Omniverse, check out the forums for support or join the Omniverse Discord server to chat with the community. What are you waiting for? Check out Omniverse today.