How to set up the Nextspace extension in NVIDIA Omniverse™
This guide will show you how to integrate our platform and NVIDIA Omniverse using the Nextspace extension for Create and View applications. If you have questions or issues, please get in touch with our support team.
Before you start
There are a few things you’ll need before you can use your Nextspace digital twin in NVIDIA Omniverse Kit applications like Create and View.
First, you’ll need to make sure your system meets the hardware requirements to run NVIDIA Omniverse applications—the most important being RTX GPU.
You’ll need a Nextspace account, as well as access to our dedicated Omniverse Nucleus server. Before downloading the Omniverse Launcher, you'll be prompted to create a developer account.
Finally, you'll need to download the Nextspace Omniverse Extension and configure it from inside the Create app. We’ll walk you through it in the steps below.
To use the Nextspace platform, you’ll need a desktop or laptop with stable internet connection, running a Chromium or WebKit browser with WebGL support—such as Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari.
We recommend a system with at least 4GB memory on a PC running Windows 10, or a Mac on MacOS 10.14 Mojave or newer.
Create your Nextspace digital twin
If you don’t already have one, sign up for a Nextspace account. You’ll need to have administrator-level user permissions to import new entities through our browser-based Operator interface.
Nucleus is the database and collaboration engine of Omniverse. If you’re signing up for a new Nextspace account, we’ll provide you with a link to complete your registration to our Nucleus server.
If you’re an existing Nextspace customer, get in touch with us and we’ll send you a registration link for our Nucleus server.
1 Import a model into Nextspace
Sign in to your Nextspace account, and navigate to Data Sources
Use the Import File button, and drag-and-drop your IFC file into the window, or use the Browse button to locate your model file.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Use the link below for more model information, and the full license text.
Complete all of the steps in the walkthrough, and position your model.
2 Create an entity menu of your tileset
Navigate to the Project Views page and use the +New button to create a new project view.
Enter a name for your project view, and enter an address or location close to where you placed your model in the previous step. When you’re done, use the Create Project View button to continue.
Select your new project view, then open up the Tools settings.
Enable Selection Mode from the Tools list.
Enable Selection download from the Selections Tools list.
Press the Save button at the top right of the screen to confirm your settings.
Select the Menu option from the Settings panel in your project view to create an entity menu to view your imported model in the Navigator.
3 Prepare your twin for NVIDIA Omniverse
First, you’ll need to enable exporting to USD, and to the Nextspace Nucleus server. Go to the Settings page by clicking the menu item at the bottom left of the screen.
Select Application Settings before selecting Bruce from the list of applications.
Enable the Export setting labelled Exported USD to Nucleus Destination
Press the Save button at the top right of the screen to confirm your settings.
Back on the Application Settings screen, select Digital Navigator
Enable the Export setting labelled Export to USD
Press the Save button at the top right of the screen to confirm your settings.
Go to Project Views and open the project view you created earlier using the Open Project View button.
This will launch the Nextspace Navigator in a new tab where you’ll visualize your model using the entity menu, and create a bookmark so your data is ready for export.
Export your model to USD
4 Export your Nextspace digital twin to NVIDIA Omniverse
Select your model and export it using the USD file type—it will now be available in Nextspace’s Omniverse Nucleus.
5 Download & open Omniverse Launcher, and install apps
You’ll need to register as an individual creator or developer to get a copy of NVIDIA Omniverse Launcher application, which will give you access to NVIDIA Omniverse Create, View, and Cache, to name a few.
Follow the link below and use the Download button to get started.
Once you have the Omniverse Launcher open, install Create and View by clicking on Exchange and searching. Then launch Create to get started.
Install the Nextspace extension
6 Import the Nextspace extension into Omniverse
Download our extension below, and extract it to a directory on your computer.
Important note
When you extract the zipped file look for a directory with the same name as the zip file and copy its full path e.g. C:/Omniverse/Nextspace/nextspace_vX.XX. Use this path when configuring the extension inside Omniverse Create (step 6b below).
6a: On the menu bar click window, and at the bottom of the drop down select “Extensions”.
6b: The window that opens is a list of the available extensions that are automatically enabled by default via Nvidia Omniverse create.
Click the “Third Party” tab to display third party apps in the list and in the search field enter “Next”.
This will filter the list of available extensions so that it is easier to tell when the Nextspace extension has been successfully added to Omniverse Create.
Press the grey gear which will open the “Extension Search Paths” panel.
Press the green button and copy and paste the directory address located on your computer that was used to extract the Nextspace extension files and click out of the search field.
6c: Click on the Nextspace extension module once it appears.
Note: You can install and remove extensions without having to restart Omniverse.
6d: Click “Disabled” to enable the extension and click the checkbox for “Autoload” so that the extension loads automatically when Omniverse Create starts.
6e: Enter your Nextspace personal account credentials.
7 Connect to Nextspace's Omniverse Nucleus engine
In the content toolbar, select the Add new connection option, then enter the Omniverse address in the window that appears—
omniverse-prv.nextspace-dev.net
Enter the name ‘Nextspace Nucleus’ in the optional field, and press OK. Your web browser will open a new tab automatically, prompting you to sign in with your Nextspace Nucleus engine credentials—if you haven't already done so, get in touch with us and we’ll send you a registration link for our Nucleus server.
Open your model in NVIDIA Omniverse
8 Open the project in Omniverse
Navigate to the project file exported from Navigator and open it.
Use the folder tree to navigate to your bookmark, and open the file named assembly.usd inside it.
Click on an object and view its data attributes served directly from the Nextspace platform using our extension.
