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Workflow User Guide#

Importing Point Clouds#

You can import E57 Point Cloud files into a USD scene. This option loads the Point Cloud file in its entirety: the extension converts the E57 file to a single USD file and writes it to the same folder. If the converted USD file already exists, the importer loads it as a reference into the scene immediately. If the E57 file contains multiple scans, the conversion process merges them.

The converted data references under an Xform containing a Points prim. The configured renderer displays all points in the scene at once, according to the selected representation.

Required Extensions#

The following extensions are required to import E57 Point Cloud data:

  • omni.kit.pointclouds

  • omni.usd.fileformat.E57

Note

These extensions are included in the Kit App Template as a public release to import E57 formats. The Point Cloud Streaming bundle will also load these extensions automatically when installed.

Import Steps#

  1. Launch your Kit application.

  2. Install and activate the omni.kit.pointclouds extension. The E57 file format extension pulls in automatically.

  3. Open File > Import. The Select File dialog opens.

  4. Choose the E57 file you want to import. In the Options dialog, you can specify import settings:

    • RTX Point Material: Assigns the default FlatPoints.mdl material to the created points primitives and sets the Invisible to secondary rays flag for them.

    • Custom Point Size: Sets an explicit point size for the loaded data. If this value is 0.0 or lower, the NVIDIA RTX Renderer determines an appropriate point size or falls back to Points Default Width from the common rendering settings.

    • Path: Specifies where the extension stores the converted USD file. By default, the extension writes the USD file into the same directory as the source E57 file.

Point Cloud Import

  1. Complete the import. The imported Point Cloud prim attaches to a newly created Xform (payload) in the Stage and appears in the Stage tree.

Point Cloud Prim

Performance and Limitations#

When importing an E57 file, the importer loads the entire dataset at once. This limits the size of supported datasets to the available system memory and GPU resources. Large files may fail to import if you have insufficient system resources.

Note

Point Clouds larger than 4 GB are split into smaller components during import. Multiple prims in the Stage represent them to avoid single file size issues.

Point Cloud Stage


Point Cloud Pump

The estimation for the scan component-size will try to fit as many points into a GPU buffer that the graphics API will provide. With the option scan_split_factor in the folder of the extension ../exts/omni.usd.fileformat.E57, those scan components can be further split into smaller parts. This should help to further limit the overhead required for building the acceleration structures needed for ray tracing on the GPU.

Troubleshooting#

  • If the converted USD file already exists, the importer loads it as a reference instead of reconverting the E57 file.

  • If rendering performance is poor, try lowering point resolution or using a lower representation mode in the renderer.

  • For very large datasets, consider using the streaming workflow instead of import, following the steps described in the section below, in the Point Cloud Streaming from NavVis IVION Hands On section.

Point Cloud Streaming from NavVis IVION#

Point Cloud Extensions let you connect to the NavVis IVION platform and stream Point Cloud data directly into a USD scene for real-time visualization and integration.

Warning

Point Cloud Streaming uses Geometry Streaming. This feature is experimental.

For more information, see Geometry Streaming.

Why Stream Instead of Import#

The benefit of Point Cloud streaming, instead of importing, is the ability to handle extremely large datasets that are often too big to fit entirely within system memory. Streaming relies on converting the data into a Potree-like hierarchical Level-of-Detail (LoD) structure, allowing points to stream successively. As you move closer to an object, the resolution dynamically increases.

Setup Steps#

The following steps describe how to set up a streaming workflow from NavVis IVION:

  1. Ensure the bundle extension omni.pointcloud.streaming.bundle is installed and activated. This bundle pulls in the other required Point Cloud extensions automatically.

    Point Cloud Streaming Bundle Extension

  2. Once the extension activates, a browser-based login window to the NavVis IVION platform opens. Alternatively, when you start Kit, the browser-login window may appear pointing to the configured NavVis IVION URL.

    Point Cloud IVION Login

Note

Configure the URL during implementation to point to your individual site on NavVis IVION.

  1. In the login window, click Use your NavVis IVION credentials and enter your credentials.

Note

When launching multiple streams in quick succession, the web browser’s pop‑up blocker may prevent the NavVis login tab from appearing. Disable the pop‑up blocker for the site and then click Retry in Kit to fix this.

When logging in to a partner page, accept all cookies in the browser window.

  1. After successful login, open the Content Browser and navigate to the Point Cloud section.

    Point Cloud Folder

Note

If login fails, select Set Point Cloud Server URL from the Content Browser and confirm the URL to reconnect to NavVis IVION.

  1. Navigate to the folder you have access to that contains the Point Cloud datasets.

  2. Drag-and-drop a dataset (or multiple datasets) from the Content Browser into the default prim in the Stage. Drag-and-drop supports single and multi-dataset selection.

Point Cloud Drag and Drop

  1. Press F to frame the streaming Point Cloud in the viewport.

Troubleshooting and Tips#

  • Ensure you correctly configure the NavVis IVION URL for your site.

  • Disable the browser’s pop-up blocker for the NavVis IVION site if the login tab does not appear.

  • Accept cookies on partner login pages when requested.

  • If the converted USD file already exists, the importer loads it as a reference instead of reconverting the E57 file.

  • If rendering performance is poor, try lowering point resolution or using a lower representation mode in the renderer.

  • For very large datasets, consider using the streaming workflow instead of import, following the steps in the Point Cloud Streaming from NavVis IVION section.

References#