Rhino

Overview

The NVIDIA Omniverse™ Rhino Connector offers a toolkit for Rhino Users to send and live sync their model(s) to an NVIDIA Omniverse™ Nucleus Server. This not only gives Rhino access to a first class renderer through NVIDIA Omniverse™ View or Kit but also the ability to open, edit and sync with any of the OMNIVERSE® Connect applications. Now, depending on the use case, Rhino users can choose the workflows and pipelines that work best for their needs while maintaining up to date revisions for all downstream consumers of their work.

Install Instructions

Please see Launcher Documentation for Installing Connectors.

Enabling the Omniverse Panel

Once the Plugin has been installed, you will find the Omniverse Panel should be floating in Rhino.

Feel free to Drag and Dock it to any Toolbar Position you like for Quick and Easy Access.

Note

You can also dock the Omniverse Toolbar to a tab position by Drag and Dropping the Omniverse Toolbar window’s tab to Rhino’s Main Top Tab-Bar.

Connecting to VIEW® (Local)

To connect the NVIDIA Omniverse™ Rhino Connector Plugin to NVIDIA Omniverse™ View a user must locate their installation of NVIDIA Omniverse™ View and select it in the NVIDIA Omniverse™ Rhino Connector Plugin Settings.

1. Select the Omniverse View Settings

   

2. Select either a past installation of Omniverse View or “Use Current” to use the most current installed version.

   

3. Press “Save” to commit the changes.

User Interface

The NVIDIA Omniverse™ Rhino Connector Plugin brings Rhino Projects into the OMNIVERSE® Platform through the use of connect tools similar to other NVIDIA Omniverse™ Connect applications.

Send to NVIDIA Omniverse™ View

Sends your file directly to NVIDIA Omniverse™ View. Simply click “Send to View” and NVIDIA Omniverse™ View will launch with your model loaded and ready to go.

Note

You must be sure that NVIDIA Omniverse™ View is installed or that you can access it from a server for this feature to work. See the Connecting to VIEW® (Local) for more details.

Send to NVIDIA Omniverse™ View from Rhino (Video)

Export

Exporting your project to your NVIDIA Omniverse™ Nucleus allows you to continue your work in other applications such as Omniverse Create, Omniverse Maya Connector, Omniverse 3ds Max Connector and other Omniverse tools.

Element	Result
Refresh	Updates the Window with Latest Data
Left/Right	Moves Through the Current Directory Structure in a Step By Step Fashion
Create New Folder	Creates a New Directory at Current File Path
Left Pane	Lists NVIDIA Omniverse™ Nucleus Directories (If Logged-In) and Local Drives / Directories
Right Pane	Lists Files in Currently Selected Directory
Project Folder	The location and name of the project to create
Save format	Allows Selection of File Export Type
Description	Text to be used as the text on the file checkpoint
Show Publish Options	Display the Settings dialog so that user can select Publish/Export options
Publish	Publishes the Rhino file using the Project Workflow.
Cancel	Stops the Export Process and Closes Publish Dialogue

Note

When you export your file, you create a connection for Live Sync which is visible in the Live Sync Path dialogue.

Export as Prop

Exporting as a prop allows you export your file for including within projects. This is the standard USD export and does not include the project container. This method is perfect for items that you plan to replicate within a project.

Element	Result
Refresh	Updates the Window with Latest Data
Left/Right	Moves Through the Current Directory Structure in a Step By Step Fashion
Create New Folder	Creates a New Directory at Current File Path
Left Pane	Lists NVIDIA Omniverse™ Nucleus Directories (If Logged-In) and Local Drives / Directories
Right Pane	Lists Files in Currently Selected Directory
Project Folder	The location and name of the project to create
Save format	Allows Selection of File Export Type
Description	Text to be used as the text on the file checkpoint
Show Publish Options	Display the Settings dialog so that user can select Publish/Export options
Export	Exports the Rhino file as a Prop file
Cancel	Stops the Export Process and Closes Export Dialogue

Note

When you export your file, you create a connection for Live Sync which is visible in the Live Sync Path dialogue.

Sign-In

The sign in window allows users to connect to their NVIDIA Omniverse™ Nucleus Server for Exporting, using Live Sync and for Mounts. Simply enter your NVIDIA Omniverse™ Nucleus “User Name” and “Password” to sign into your OMNIVERSE® Cloud.

Setting	Result
Server	Address of an NVIDIA Omniverse™ Nucleus Server
Ok	Begins the Connection with Selected User/Server
Cancel	Stops the Sign-In Process and Closes the Sign-In Window

Settings

The settings menu allows you to select a preferred NVIDIA Omniverse™ View installation as your default viewer.

Note

You will need to have NVIDIA Omniverse™ View installed and selected to use Send to View.

Send to View Settings	Result
Unset	No View Settings (This setting disables Send to View)
Send to Local	Omniverse View Launch Path
Use Current/Use Custom	“Use Current” locates current View Installs Automatically, “Use Custom” uses the Custom View Location value
Custom View Location	Allows Selections of View Installs not Found by Automatic
Send to Server	Omniverse Remote View Launch Path
Use Current/Use Custom	“Use Current” locates current Remote View Installs Automatically, “Use Custom” uses the Remote Launcher location value
Remote Launcher	Allows for Selection of a Remote Viewer
Render Size	Render Quality to Use in View when Launching Remotely
Project/Prop toggle	Determines the output type when using Send To View. See Publish Project and Export As Prop for details
Save	Commits the Changes and Closes the Window
Cancel	Closes the Window and Discarding the Changes

Publish/Export Options	Result
Export Only Selected Items	Restricts the Export to Currently Selected Objects
Separate By Objects (Slower)	Each mesh exported as individual meshes.
Use Material Mapping	Swaps a custom material with a core library material if a match is found.
Use Rhino Materials	Exports custom rhino materials.
Use Material By Layer	Uses layer material assigned to rhino layer group.
Use Layer Name As Material	If the material is found in core materials, auto selects the preferred material.

Help

Launches your default web browser to the NVIDIA Omniverse™ View: Rhino Plugin Documentation.

Live sync

Live sync updates your models allowing other OMNIVERSE® applications get your changes in real-time.

Setting	Result
Live Sync	Live Sync ON when checked
Source file	Name of the Rhino file being synced
Published file	Name of the .usd file being synced with
Connect USD	Opens a browser, allowing the user to select the .usd file to sync with
User Icon	Opens the Sign In dialog

Note

The Live Sync Window must remain open to use Live Sync. Closing this window will terminate a live sync connection.

About

Opens a dialogue and displays version information about the installed NVIDIA Omniverse™ Rhino Connector, and provides helpful links to access Release Notes and to Get Support

Display	Value
Build	Build Version Number
Date	Date Plugin was Created

File creation from Send to View, Publish Project or Export as Prop

Exporting your project to your NVIDIA Omniverse™ Nucleus allows you to continue your work in other Omniverse Apps and connectors.

Note

When you export your file, you create a connection for Live Sync which is visible in the Live Sync Path dialogue.

Materials

Material Mapper

When sending your materials to NVIDIA Omniverse™ View, we replace the low quality textures and shaders associated with Rhino and replace them with High Quality Custom Materials inside of NVIDIA Omniverse™ View. This is done by material mapping and can be controlled via CSV.

Rhino Materials

Rhino materials can be exported in both Rhino 6 and Rhino 7. For Physical Materials, Rhino 7 is required. These materials will be converted and saved as part of the project.

Core Library Materials (CSV)

The CSV Mapping File for Rhino can be located in the following directory.

<Documents>/Omniverse/Rhino/omniverseRhinoMDLtable.csv

CSV File Structure

A CSV file is a Comma Separated Values table of data whose field’s end is defined by a comma ‘,’.

Using Spreadsheet Tools

These tables are a very common format and can be opened/edited inside of MS Excel (or other spreadsheet tools) and will have 5 columns in them when viewed.

Format

Column	Expected Value
Column A	Name of the material from the application. Note: Any commas (,) are replaced with an asterisk (*)
Column B	Indicates if there is a parameter override | NONE: default, no special characteristics | COLOR: the 5th column (Column E) will have the parameter name in the MDL GENERIC: keyword and last resort match in mapping (looks for the value in Column A in the string of the material name we get from the application e.g. if Column A is glass and the material from Rhino was Special Glass then it would match) EXCLUDE: materials found in the application but NOT mapped, user could convert these to real mappings by setting to NONE and changing the values in Column C/D/E (potentially)
Column C	MDL name (no .MDL)
Column D	Path into the location in the Omniverse database (points to a Mount)
Column E	If necessary, the parameter override in MDL

Examples

Cardboard,NONE,Cardboard,/NVIDIA/AEC/Library/Materials/Wall_Board
Blue Paint,COLOR,Paint_Satin,/NVIDIA/AEC/Library/Materials/Miscellaneous,diffuse_tint
glass,GENERIC,Clear_Glass,/NVIDIA/AEC/Library/Materials/Glass
Some Material Name,EXCLUDE,WhiteMode,/NVIDIA/AEC/Library/Materials/Styles

Grasshopper

Grasshopper is an extension that began shipping with Rhino in version 6 and is supported in NVIDIA® OMNIVERSE® through the NVIDIA Omniverse™ Rhino Connector Plugin. Because of this, Grasshopper makes possible node-based procedural building on the OMNIVERSE®.

Send to View (Video)

Live Sync (Video)

Grasshopper Components

Grasshopper users will be happy to know that OMNIVERSE® requires very little to change in their current workflow as all interactions are handled through 4 main and 5 lights OMNIVERSE® Components.

Main Components

There are 4 main components in the Components tab of the OMNIVERSE® plugin. These components are listed below:

Note

These are the components you need for a minimum setup to publish files to OMNIVERSE®.

OmniGrasshopper Component

This is the main module for the OMNIVERSE®. Any OmniLayer Group or OmniLight wired to this node is published. This is the final node of the graph and only one component of this type is per canvas is allowed.

OmniGrasshopper Component Properties

Toggle	Live Sync		When ON enables “Live Sync”. When OFF (default) Live Sync is disabled
Input	OmniInput	OI	OmniLayer or OmniLight objects to be published
Input	Project Folder PATH	P	Parent project file path
Input	File Name	FN	File Name override used for publish and STV
Button	Send to View		Click to start Send to View process
Button	Publish		Click to start the publish process
Toggle	Publish mode		Options “as project” or “as prop” for Send to View

This component also has custom menu items: Settings, Help and About. These are visible when right-clicking on the component symbol.

Settings is described in the section for Send to View

Help connects to the web page https://docs.omniverse.nvidia.com/con_connect/con_connect/rhino.html#grasshopper

About shows this dialog, which contains current version information, and provides helpful links to access Release Notes and to Get Support

OmniGroup Component

This node is used to create OmniLayer groups from geometry, layer name and material inputs. Multiple OmniLayer groups can be created and wired into a OmniGrasshopper Component to be published.

OmniGroup Component Properties

Input	Geometry	G	Geometry to be converted to OmniLayer for publish (live sync / send to view)
Input	Layer Name	LN	Name of the OmniLayer group
Input	Material	M	Material/Color input to be assigned to the OmniLayer group
Output	OmniLayer	OL	Object group with layer name and material

Important

Geometry input always needs to be flattened. If OmniGrasshopper turns red and states “item with the same key has already been added”, try flattening the geometry input to OmniLayer.

Note

Material can be set with OmniMaterial, Color Swatch or a named color/valid material name using the Panel input. The list of color names accepted mimics the HTML5 named color list found here HTML5 Color List

OmniBrowser Component

The OmniBrowser allows additional workflow possibilities by giving access the OMNIVERSE® Server browser. Only one browser node per canvas is allowed.

Typical Workflow Capabilities added by this node

• Sign in to a server

• Link to previously saved child USD file for Live Sync

• Manually override server (Server override will take priority over the Server Sign In button)

OmniBrowser Component Properties

Input	Server Override		SO	Selects the active server (Overrides Sign-In if Used)
Button	Server Sign In			When clicked triggers a server sign-in dialog
Button	Browse Child USD			When clicked triggers a dialog to link a saved USD Path
Output	Active Server		AS	Outputs active server
Output	Project Folder PATH		P	Outputs the project folder for the actively linked USD
Output	File Name		FN	Outputs the active child USD name

Clicking Server Sign in displays a dialog

OmniMaterial Component

This node is used to select materials with a dropdown list. The dropdown list is looking into the CSV Mapping File for Grasshopper which can be located in the following directory <Documents>/Omniverse/Grasshopper/omniverseMDLtable.csv

The component appearance, with the Select Material button, and an output of the material name selected.

Clicking the Select Material button displays this dialog

Clicking the down arrow in the entry field on the dialog will display the materials available.

An example of the component, after a material has been selected from the list.

Note

One OmniMaterial per OmniLayer group can be assigned.

Light Components

There are 5 components in the Lights tab of the OMNIVERSE® plugin. These components are listed below:

Adding Lights (Video)

Note

Multiple OmniLights groups can be created and wired into a OmniGrasshopper Component to be published.

OmniSphereLight Component

This node is used to create sphere lights in the form of OmniLight objects.

OmniSphereLight Component Properties

Input	Frame	F	Location parameter
Input	IES Profile	PATH	Optional file path to an IES lighting profile
Input	Color	C	Light Hue
Input	Intensity	I	Intensity measured in NITS(cd/m2)
Input	Radius	R	Radius of Sphere Light
Input	Layer	L	Layer Name
Output	OmniLight - Sphere	L	Omniverse Sphere Light Object
Output	Transform	X	A transform relative to world XY can be used to orient light fixtures

OmniCylinderLight Component

This node is used to create cylinder lights in the form of OmniLight objects.

OmniCylinderLight Component Properties

Input	Axis	A	Cylinder Axis (Line)
Input	Radius	R	Cylinder Radius
Input	Direction	D	Vector to align lighting direction to
Input	Color	C	Light Tint RGB
Input	Intensity	I	Intensity measured in NITS(cd/m2)
Input	Layer	L	Layer Name
Output	OmniLight - Cylinder	L	Omniverse Cylinder Light Object
Output	Plane	P	Plane aligned to Direction
Output	Transform	X	A transform relative to world XY can be used to orient light fixtures

Note

Direction vector only effects lights with radially asymmetric profiles.

OmniDiskLight Component

This node is used to create disk lights in the form of OmniLight objects.

OmniDiskLight Component Properties

Input	Circle	C	Circle to become a light
Input	Color	C	Light Tint RGB
Input	Intensity	I	Intensity measured in NITS(cd/m2)
Input	Layer	L	Layer Name
Output	OmniLight - Disk	L	Omniverse Disk Light Object
Output	Plane	P	Plane aligned to Direction
Output	Transform	X	A transform relative to world XY can be used to orient light fixtures

Note

Light direction will be -Z for plane of circle.

OmniRectangleLight Component

This node is used to create rectangle lights in the form of OmniLight objects.

OmniRectangleLight Component Properties

Input	Rectangle	R	Rectangle to become a light
Input	Color	C	Light Tint RGB
Input	Intensity	I	Intensity measured in NITS(cd/m2)
Input	Layer	L	Layer Name
Output	OmniLight - Rectangle	L	Omniverse Rectangle Light Object
Output	Plane	P	Plane aligned to Direction
Output	Transform	X	A transform relative to world XY can be used to orient light fixtures

Note

Light direction will be -Z for plane of circle.

MeshBulb_Primitive Component

This node is used to create bulb shape mesh to be used with the OmniSphereLight Component.

Note

When used as a base geometry this component will be faster then re-creating a mesh for each light instance.

Connecting Models for Output

Using the OmniLayer Component (node) in Grasshopper allows you to convert geometry to OmniLayer group through the geometry input on the OmniLayer Component.

In the above example, notice how geometries need to be wired through OmniLayer, OmniGrasshopper does not directly accept a geometry input.

Connecting Simulation Results as Output

The setup for publishing colored mesh (face/vertex color shading) inputs from simulation results in Grasshopper is similar to the above mentioned publish process. The user needs to input the word “Simulation” to the Material input and the colored mesh results to the Geometry input of the OmniLayer Component.

Note

If any geometry is created and NOT connected to the OmniGrasshopper Component using the OmniLayer node, it will not be output in the final result to the Omniverse.

Exporting Grasshopper Data to the OMNIVERSE®

In order to send data to the OMNIVERSE®, you must first establish a connection to an NVIDIA Omniverse™ Nucleus server. This is done by clicking the Server Sign In button on an OmniBrowser component.

Add Simulation Data Support (Video)

Publishing Grasshopper Data on the OMNIVERSE®

Assuming you already have OmniLayer group connected to OmniGrasshopper Component and that you are connected to either your localhost server or another OMNIVERSE® Server on your Network, the next step is to publish. To do this, we will simply click the “Publish” button on the component.

In the below image, notice the dashed lines connecting the geometry input to OmniLayer node. This means a data tree is coming through the connection, we need this to be a flat list. To flatten this data, right-click on the input node Geometry item and select Flatten. The output should now be represented as a solid line.

Now we are all set and ready for publishing.

To start the publishing operation, simply click the “Publish” button on the component.

Note

Project Folder PATH: (optional) accepts a panel input, used to override the project path selected at the publish dialog box. As long as an input sting is defined the dialog box is skipped during publish - format: /Users/yourUserName/yourProjectName

Publish as Prop

Publishes the Grasshopper file using the Prop Export method (No Project Container).

This is how the dialog will appear if “Publish mode: as prop” is set on the OmniGrasshopper component. Browse and select where you would like your prop file to be saved, give your project a name and click Publish to complete the operation.

Element	Result
Refresh	Updates the Window with Latest Data
Left/Right	Moves Through the Current Directory Structure in a Step By Step Fashion
Create New Folder	Creates a New Directory at Current File Path
Left Pane	Lists NVIDIA Omniverse™ Nucleus Directories (If Logged-In) and Local Drives / Directories
Right Pane	Lists Files in Currently Selected Directory
Project Folder	The location and name of the project to create
Save format	Allows Selection of File Export Type
Description	Text to be used as the text on the file checkpoint
Publish	Publishes the Grasshopper file using the Project Workflow.
Cancel	Stops the Export Process and Closes Publish Dialogue

Publish as Project

Publishes the Grasshopper file using the Project Workflow.

This is how the dialog will appear if “Publish mode: as project” is set on the OmniGrasshopper component. Browse and select where you would like your project to be saved, give your project a name and click Publish to complete the operation.

Element	Result
Refresh	Updates the Window with Latest Data
Left/Right	Moves Through the Current Directory Structure in a Step By Step Fashion
Create New Folder	Creates a New Directory at Current File Path
Left Pane	Lists NVIDIA Omniverse™ Nucleus Directories (If Logged-In) and Local Drives / Directories
Right Pane	Lists Files in Currently Selected Directory
Project Folder	The location and name of the project to create
Save format	Allows Selection of File Export Type
Description	Text to be used as the text on the file checkpoint
Publish	Publishes the Grasshopper file using the Project Workflow.
Cancel	Stops the Export Process and Closes Publish Dialogue

Using Grasshopper in Live mode

Live mode is available whether Publish or Send To View has been used to create a file. To enable live mode, simply Export using either Publish``or ``Send to View, then enable Live Sync on OmniGrasshopper Component. While ON, your model will update in realtime and can be viewed / managed in realtime by other OMNIVERSE® apps.

Sending Grasshopper Models to NVIDIA Omniverse™ View

Sending to NVIDIA Omniverse™ View is virtually the same process as Publishing. Once again it is assumed that geometry is connected to the OmniGrasshopper Module and that you are already connected to a localhost Server or Network Server. Simply click Send to View and Omniverse View will launch with your model loaded and ready to go.

To adjust Send to View options, right click on the icon of the OmniGrasshopper, and select Settings from the menu. This dialog will be displayed:

Send to View Settings	Result
Unset	No View Settings (This setting disables Send to View)
Send to Local	Omniverse View Launch Path
Use Current/Use Custom	“Use Current” locates current View Installs Automatically, “Use Custom” uses the Custom View Location value
Custom View Location	Allows Selections of View Installs not Found by Automatic
Send to Server	Omniverse Remote View Launch Path
Use Current/Use Custom	“Use Current” locates current Remote View Installs Automatically, “Use Custom” uses the Remote Launcher location value
Remote Launcher	Allows for Selection of a Remote Viewer
Render Size	Render Quality to Use in View when Launching Remotely
Save	Commits the Changes and Closes the Window
Cancel	Closes the Window and Discarding the Changes

Release Notes

• 108.1.588
• 107.1.577
• Connect 105.1.541
• Connect 102.1.418
• Connect 100.2.1
• Connect 100.1.0
• 2020.2 Hotfix
• 2020.2 Point Release

Known Limitations

Settings

• Scene Units, mm, m, inches, feet, need testing

Geometry

• Shapes, Splines are not exported

• Components

• Blocks, Linked Blocks

• Save Small Workflow

Materials

• Custom materials and textures are not supported

Lighting

• Environment Light mapping is unsupported

• Sun Light mapping is unsupported

• IES Profiles are unsupported

Animation

• Animation is not supported

Cameras

• Camera parameter mapping is in development and not currently supported