Robotics
From Scan to BIM to SimReady
A good Scan to BIM model already contains most of what a robot simulation needs: every object measured and separated. A few more steps turn it into a SimReady world where robots are trained and tested before they ever reach the site.
Why robotics teams care about Scan to BIM
Robots fail in the gap between the lab and the real site: the aisle is narrower, the shelf higher, the floor rougher. Testing in a simulated copy of the real site catches those problems early. Building that copy by hand is slow; building it from a scan, using the same separated objects a BIM team would use, is fast.
What "SimReady" means
NVIDIA uses SimReady for 3D assets that are ready for physically accurate simulation, built on OpenUSD. Compared with a BIM model, a SimReady world adds:
| Property | BIM model | SimReady world |
|---|---|---|
| Separated objects | Yes (at good LOD) | Required |
| Visual geometry | Yes | Yes, with real materials |
| Collision geometry | No | Simplified shapes for physics |
| Mass and friction | No | Per object |
| Moving parts | Rarely | Doors, drawers, hinges, joints |
| Format | Revit, IFC | OpenUSD |
| Semantic labels | Categories | Labels for perception training |
The extra steps
- Separate everything. A robot needs every box, chair and tool as its own body. This is where object-level Scan to BIM pays off.
- Add collision shapes that are simple enough for fast, stable physics.
- Assign physics materials: mass, friction, restitution.
- Articulate moving parts: door hinges, drawer slides, lids.
- Export to OpenUSD with semantic labels, ready for simulators such as NVIDIA Isaac Sim.
- Randomize. Vary layouts, lighting and object placement so robots generalize beyond one fixed copy.
OpenUSD is becoming a standard
The Alliance for OpenUSD released OpenUSD Core Specification 1.0 in December 2025. Just as IFC is the open record for buildings (see IFC or Revit?), USD is becoming the open format for simulation.
What people do with it
- Plan where robots, conveyors and charging stations go in a real factory or warehouse (see Scan to BIM for industrial plants).
- Train and evaluate robot policies on the real site before deployment.
- Generate synthetic training data with realistic variation.
- Run digital twins for facilities operations (see Scan to BIM for facilities management).
How Moving Atoms does it
SimReady is the level we offer beyond LOD 500: the same scan becomes a BIM model for your design team and a physics-ready USD world for your robotics team. In our LiDAR samples you can try domain randomization on a scanned factory and watch a Unitree G1 humanoid working in it. Read more on our environments platform and robotics solutions pages, or upload a scan and book a call to scope a SimReady world.
Want a SimReady copy of your site? Upload a scan or book a call and we will scope it with you.
Frequently asked questions
What is a SimReady asset?
A 3D asset prepared for physically accurate simulation, typically in OpenUSD, with real materials, collision geometry, physics properties and semantic labels.
Can a Revit model be used for robot simulation?
It is a good starting point. It needs collision shapes, physics materials, articulation of moving parts and export to OpenUSD to become simulation-ready.