Editor's note: This post is a part of our Meet the Omnivore series, which features individual creators and developers who use NVIDIA Omniverse to accelerate their 3D workflows and create virtual worlds.
Things are a lot sunnier these days for designers looking to visualize their projects in NVIDIA Omniverse, a platform for creating and operating metaverse applications.
Pingfan Wu Pingfan Wu, a senior architectural researcher at the Hunan Architectural Design Institute (HNADI) Group in south-central China, developed an Omniverse extension that makes controlling the sun and its effects on scenes within the platform more intuitive and precise.
Wu has won multiple awards for his work with Omniverse extensions - core building blocks that let anyone create and extend functions of the Omniverse using the popular Python or C++ programming languages.
The SunPath extension lets users easily add, manipulate and update a sun-path diagram within the Omniverse viewport.
This enables designers to visualize how the sun will impact a site or building at different times of day throughout the year, which is critical for the architecture, engineering, construction and operations (AECO) industry.
To achieve digitization in the AECO industry, the first task is to build a bridge for data interoperability between design tools, and the only platform that can fill this role is Omniverse, Wu said. Based on the Universal Scene Description framework, Omniverse enables designers to collaborate using different software.
And the excellent rendering power of Omniverse makes the sunlight look very realistic, Wu added.
Award-Winning Omniverse Extension The extension shined brightly in NVIDIA's inaugural #ExtendOmniverse contest last fall, winning the scene modifier or manipulator tools category.
The competition invited developers to use the Omniverse Code app to create their own Omniverse extensions for a chance to win an NVIDIA RTX GPU.
Wu decided to join, as he saw the potential for Omniverse's real-time, collaborative, AI-powered tools to let designers focus more on ideas and design rather than on rendering and struggling to connect models from different software, he said.
Many design tools that come with a skylight feature lack realistic shadows, the researcher had noticed. His SunPath extension - built in just over a month - solves this problem, as designers can import scenes to Omniverse and create accurate sun studies quickly and easily.
They can even use SunPath to perform energy-consumption analyses to make design results more efficient, Wu added.
More Wins With Omniverse Participating in the #ExtendOmniverse contest inspired Wu to develop further applications of Omniverse for AECO, he said.
He led a team at HNADI, which includes eight members who are experts in both architecture and technology, to create a platform that enables users to customize AECO-specific digital twins. Dubbed HNADI-AECKIT, the platform extends an Omniverse Connector to Rhino, a 3D computer graphics and computer-aided design software.
It won two awards at last year's AEC Hackathon in China: first prize overall and in the Best Development of the Omniverse track.
The core technical advantage of HNADI-AECKIT is that it opens up a complete linkage between Rhino and Omniverse, Wu said. Any output from Rhino can be quickly converted into a high-fidelity, information-visible, interactive, customizable digital-twin scene in Omniverse.
Learn more about HNADI-AECKIT:
Join In on the Creation Creators and developers across the world can download NVIDIA Omniverse for free, and enterprise teams can use the platform for their 3D projects.
Discover how to build an Omniverse extension in less than 10 minutes.
For a deeper dive into developing on Omniverse, attend these sessions at GTC, a global conference for the era of AI and the metaverse, running March 20-23.
Find additional documentation and tutorials in the Omniverse Resource Center, which details how developers like Wu can build custom USD-based applications and extensions for the platform.
To discover more free tools, training and a community for developers, join the NVIDIA Developer Program.
Follow NVIDIA Omniverse on Instagram, Medium, Twitter and YouTube for additional resources and inspiration. Check out the Omniverse forums, and join our Discord server and Twitch channel to chat with the community.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/03/2026
NBC Sports selected Imaginary Forces to create the main title sequence for the M...
02/03/2026
The NFL announces the launch of the NFL Draft Innovation Challenge, a new crowds...
02/03/2026
The World Teleport Association (WTA) has named Skyline Communications' DataMiner SatOps solution as a finalist for the 2026 Teleport Technology of the Year ...
02/03/2026
Ventum Tech announces a strategic partnership with Pixotope, a real-time graphic...
02/03/2026
Victory , a free, ad-supported sports streaming service, announces the launch of...
02/03/2026
Global powerhouse Delta Goodrem to represent Australia at this year's Eurovi...
02/03/2026
SBS brings together prominent voices to discuss rising social division and seek ...
02/03/2026
NITV Unveils Wednesday Night Sport Night
Media releases
A Midweek Hub for Blak Sport
Flagship NRL program Over The Black Dot moves to Wednesdays at 9:30pm
...
02/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz demonstrates FR1-FR3 carrier aggregation, advancing 6G readiness Rohde & Schwarz and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. have reached another pivotal ...
02/03/2026
MELBOURNE, Fla., March 2, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) today announc...
02/03/2026
Harvey Norman tops New Zealand's biggest ad spenders as retail leads and telcos and beverages sure Auckland March 3, 2026 - Nielsen's New Zealand'...
02/03/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, and Arqit Quantum Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQQ, A...
02/03/2026
Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, has appointed Jody Boatwright as Chief Strategy Of...
02/03/2026
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, is reinforcing its commitment to simplifying complex AV environments with the continued evolution of its TPN...
02/03/2026
ZEISS Cinema opens its doors to an exclusive screening, filmmakers Q&A and hands-on showcase of the new ZEISS Aatma lens family on Tuesday, March 10, 6:00-9:00 ...
02/03/2026
To expand the creative potential of the compact Astera QuikBeam, DoPchoice introduces the SNAPBAG Round. The new light-shaping accessory transforms the powerfu...
02/03/2026
Douglas Dubler
On a rooftop in New York City, veteran photographer Douglas Dubler watched the sun's angle shift across the urban landscape, his internal cl...
02/03/2026
ZEISS is expanding its Otus ML lens family with the introduction of the new ZEISS Otus ML 1.4/35. This manual-focus lens is designed for photographers who live ...
02/03/2026
Matthews Studio Equipment now offers the new Dinkum Systems White FlexiMount and Phone Mount Kit, a compact, highly adaptable setup for mobile content creation...
02/03/2026
Luxembourg, February 26, 2026 - SES and Africa Mobile Network (AMN) have expande...
02/03/2026
02 03 2026 - Media release Ausfilm and Screen Australia launch joint UK market initiative
Ausfilm and Screen Australia have announced Partner with Australia (...
02/03/2026
Monday 2 March 2026
Saturday Night Live UK announces writing team
L-R: Jonno Johnson; Charlie Skelton; Celya AB; Omar Badawy; Gr inne Maguire; Laura Claxton; ...
02/03/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the Trailer for 53 Sundays, the New Film by Cesc Gay
Entertainment
02 March 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Dis...
28/02/2026
With two features seen in Formula 1 coverage, the broadcaster aims to bring view...
28/02/2026
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth addresses a crowd of approximately 1,500 L3Harris employees in Camden, Arkansas, as part of his Arsenal of Freedom tour....
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Berklee Presents Mambo Mania: Eguie Castrillo and the Berklee All-Stars Big Band...
28/02/2026
Berklee Announces Two New Summer Programs in Los Angeles The Berklee Music Business Program and Electronic Music Production and Sound Design Workshop bring imme...
28/02/2026
AI-RAN is moving from lab to field, showing that a software-defined approach is ...
28/02/2026
Autonomous networks - intelligent, self-managing telecommunications operations -...
28/02/2026
Back to All News
Final Trailer for BEASTARS Final Season Part 2' Roars Tow...
28/02/2026
New way to intentionally discover molecular glues could expand drug discovery Scripps Research scientists and colleagues show how drugs that eliminate certain d...
27/02/2026
The E.W. Scripps Company names Oliver Gray as Vice President, Network Sports and...
27/02/2026
The Gotham Sports App, the exclusive direct-to-consumer streaming home of MSG Networks and the YES Network, is now available for purchase through Prime Video fo...
Editor's note: This post is a part of our Meet the Omnivore series, which features individual creators and developers who use NVIDIA Omniverse to accelerate their 3D workflows and create virtual worlds.
