
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.
Yizhou Zhao When not engrossed in his studies toward a Ph.D. in statistics, conducting data-driven research on AI and robotics, or enjoying his favorite hobby of sailing, Yizhou Zhao is winning contests for developers who use NVIDIA Omniverse - a platform for connecting and building custom 3D pipelines and metaverse applications.
The fifth-year doctoral candidate at the University of California, Los Angeles recently received first place in the inaugural #ExtendOmniverse contest, where developers were invited to create their own Omniverse extension for a chance to win an NVIDIA RTX GPU.
Omniverse extensions are core building blocks that let anyone create and extend functions of Omniverse apps using the popular Python programming language.
Zhao's winning entry, called IndoorKit, allows users to easily load and record robotics simulation tasks in indoor scenes. It sets up robotics manipulation tasks by automatically populating scenes with the indoor environment, the bot and other objects with just a few clicks.
Typically, it's hard to deploy a robotics task in simulation without a lot of skills in scene building, layout sampling and robot control, Zhao said. By bringing assets into Omniverse's powerful user interface using the Universal Scene Description framework, my extension achieves instant scene setup and accurate control of the robot.
Within IndoorKit, users can simply click add object, add house, load scene, record scene and other buttons to manipulate aspects of the environment and dive right into robotics simulation.
With Universal Scene Description (USD), an open-source, extensible file framework, Zhao seamlessly brought 3D models into his environments using Omniverse Connectors for Autodesk Maya and Blender software.
The IndoorKit extension also relies on assets from the NVIDIA Isaac Sim robotics simulation platform and Omniverse's built-in PhysX capabilities for accurate, articulated manipulation of the bots.
In addition, IndoorKit can randomize a scene's lighting, room materials and more. One scene Zhao built with the extension is highlighted in the feature video above.
Omniverse for Robotics The IndoorKit extension bridges Omniverse and robotics research in simulation.
A view of Zhao's IndoorKit extension I don't see how accurate robot control was performed prior to Omniverse, Zhao said. He provides four main reasons for why Omniverse was the ideal platform on which to build this extension:
First, Python's popularity means many developers can build extensions with it to unlock machine learning and deep learning research for a broader audience, he said.
Second, using NVIDIA RTX GPUs with Omniverse greatly accelerates robot control and training.
Third, Omniverse's ray-tracing technology enables real-time, photorealistic rendering of his scenes. This saves 90% of the time Zhao used to spend for experiment setup and simulation, he said.
And fourth, Omniverse's real-time advanced physics simulation engine, PhysX, supports an extensive range of features - including liquid, particle and soft-body simulation - which land on the frontier of robotics studies, according to Zhao.
The future of art, engineering and research is in the spirit of connecting everything: modeling, animation and simulation, he said. And Omniverse brings it all together.
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, watch the on-demand NVIDIA GTC session, How to Build Extensions and Apps for Virtual Worlds With NVIDIA Omniverse.
Find additional documentation and tutorials in the Omniverse Resource Center, which details how developers like Zhao 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...
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...
24/01/2026
Masami Kawai Selected as the 2026 Merata Mita Fellow; Isabella Madrigal and Tsanavi Spoonhunter Named 2026 Graton Fellows During Native Forum Celebration in Par...
24/01/2026
The MC-55A Peregrine aircraft will give the Royal Australian Air Force information superiority and serve as strategic assets for future Australian Defence Force...
24/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
24/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
24/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
24/01/2026
RT and Virgin Media Television kick off comprehensive free-to-air coverage of t...
23/01/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 29 July, 2025 - Yospace, the global leader in Dynamic A...
23/01/2026
WWE's Virtual Production Playbook: How the Professional Wrestling Super Powe...
23/01/2026
Tight set up: Squeezing the PSA's Tournament of Champions into Grand Central...
23/01/2026
Evolving production: The PSA on bringing squash to more viewers at the Tournamen...
23/01/2026
AFC Championship Preview: Behind the Scenes With NFL on CBS' Producer Jim R...
23/01/2026
NFC Championship Preview: FOX Sports Director Rich Russo Talks Technology, Story...
23/01/2026
Spotify's annual Best New Artist celebration honors the rising stars whose talent, creativity, and dedication have propelled them to the music industry'...
23/01/2026
Coalition military forces operating across the vast geography of the Indo-Pacific rely on interoperable, secure data links to share intelligence, surveillance a...
23/01/2026
Artist rendering of L3Harris Technologies' AERIS next generation airborne early warning and control solution....
23/01/2026
The U.S. Air Force AMP Increment II aircraft at L3Harris' facility in Waco, Texas. L3Harris has modernized C-130 avionics since 1985, delivering digital coc...
23/01/2026
Paramount is transforming its operations by unifying the media supply chains of their top brands into a scalable global pipeline.
This transformation enhances ...
23/01/2026
Every delay costs. When a subtitle fails QC, even the smallest issue can mean missed deadlines, extra vendor costs, or frustrated teams. The new Accurate.Video ...
23/01/2026
Multi-year deal utilizes Nielsen's full suite of local audience marketing in...
23/01/2026
New York, NY January 21, 2026 - Neptune BidCo US Inc. (the Issuer or the Co...
23/01/2026
ALT Systems, Inc., a leading system integrator and technology solutions provider for the media and entertainment industry, today announced the launch of PixSpan...
23/01/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) will mark a major milestone for Pro AV-over-IP at ISE 2026 with the official launch of Internet Protocol Media Experi...
23/01/2026
KRK, a leader in professional studio monitoring for nearly four decades, will unveil the all new V Series Five at the 2026 NAMM Show, offering attendees an excl...
23/01/2026
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, today announced Steve LLamb, Vice President of Technology Standards and Solutions for Cin...
23/01/2026
IBC today announces that the call for Technical Papers is now open for the IBC2026 Conference, inviting innovators from across the global media, entertainment, ...
23/01/2026
Grass Valley has announced that Asharq News, the leading multi-platform Arabic news service owned by the Saudi Research & Media Group (SRMG), has expanded its c...
23/01/2026
At the SET Expo 2025, a consortium including Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., Motorola, and Rohde & Schwarz successfully demonstrated a real-world proof-of-concept ...
23/01/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the appointment of Gwen Braygreen as Executive Vice President and...
23/01/2026
Alfalite, Brainstorm, Dejero, Domo Broadcast Systems, FOR-A, KitPlus, Ontario Soluciones and RGB Spectrum partner to demonstrate revolutionary integrated soluti...
23/01/2026
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer experience and engagement, expands its team to ignite a new era of professional-grade pro...
23/01/2026
LOGIC media solutions, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Advanced Partner specialising in AWS-based media workflows, is one of the official launch partners of the ne...
23/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
23/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
23/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
23/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
23/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
23/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
23/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
23/01/2026
Friday 23 January 2026
Sky appoints Lisa Clark as Commissioning Executive for SNL UK
Lisa Clark headshot
PNG (468KB)
Lisa Clark joins Sky as Commissioning E...
23/01/2026
Back to All News
Pavane' Drops Teaser Ahead of February 20 Debut - A Tende...
23/01/2026
FY2025 Full Year Results...
23/01/2026
RT is delighted to announce that the RT and F s ireann / Screen Ireland supported short film Retirement Plan has been nominated for Best Animated Short at th...
22/01/2026
SVG Students To Watch: Chuck Luarasi, Curry CollegeThe Massachusetts native is cutting his teeth with Harvard Athletics, Cape Cod Baseball LeagueBy Brandon Cost...
22/01/2026
Follow the Money, Episode 4: Talking Tech, Sports, and Private Capital With Sam ...
22/01/2026
Fever pitch: WRC is back for the start of the 2026 season with Rallye Monte-Carl...
22/01/2026
FloSports Prepares To Broadcast Outdoor Hockey Game Amidst Brutally Cold Tempera...