In this edition of the “Meet the Visionary” series, we explore Universal Scene Description (OpenUSD) through the unique perspective of Sean Snyders, Distinguished Engineer, at Trimble. Sean has always stood at the intersection of imagination and precision, bringing a rare combination of Hollywood VFX expertise, having worked on films like Avatar and The Hobbit trilogy, and deep understanding of the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry challenges. 
At Trimble, Sean is exploring how OpenUSD can help transform construction workflows by enabling more fluid data exchange, collaborative modeling, and simulation. Working with teams at the forefront of integrating OpenUSD workflows into core tools like SketchUp, Trimble Connect, and 3D Warehouse, new pathways for visualization, simulation, and digital twins are unlocked, while maintaining full fidelity with the company’s highly specialized, domain-specific datasets.
Bridging Physical and Digital Worlds
Trimble’s approach to OpenUSD centers on connecting the physical world of construction with digital workflows in unprecedented ways. The company is exploring OpenUSD primarily from a feasibility perspective for the AEC industry, with implementations already visible in tools like SketchUp, which now supports OpenUSD import/export for advanced 3D workflows, and the 3D Warehouse, the world’s largest 3D model library, which now provides USDZ downloads.
One compelling example of this bridge between worlds is Trimble’s collaboration on a rail project in Devon, England. Through Trimble Connect, data was aggregated from Trimble’s civil design software (Quadri) into a USD composition and provided to SimScale for wind simulation. The resulting simulation data was then integrated back into the USD composition and visualized with NVIDIA Omniverse, creating a comprehensive view that combined design intent with real-world physics. OpenUSD allowed the possibility to collaborate and leverage external partners to provide novel additive solutions and capabilities.
Solving Duplication With Model Federation
What makes OpenUSD particularly transformative for construction is its model federation capabilities with non-destructive editing. The technology gives teams the ability to bring together many different data sources without duplicating files or losing fidelity. “This brings true ability to not copy data across workflows just to be able to change a small part thereof in a downstream process,” Sean explains. This addresses a fundamental pain point in construction, where teams often duplicate entire datasets just to make minor modifications for their specific needs.
OpenUSD’s composition semantics are general enough to support workflows across different 3D applications, industries, and domains. For the AEC industry, where projects involve a myriad of existing standards across different domains, this flexibility is crucial. “Efficiently collaborating, iterating, and minimizing duplication throughout this process whilst keeping legal and contractual boundaries on data delivery is a challenge we are keen to help the industry address,” Sean notes.
The framework’s ability to define custom data schemas while maintaining first-class data representation prevents the data fragmentation that typically plagues construction projects. Custom schemas live alongside standard data in the model, ensuring complete and accurate representations throughout the project lifecycle.
Training the Future With Synthetic Data
One of Trimble’s most innovative applications of OpenUSD involves generating synthetic data for training AI algorithms. Using OpenUSD via NVIDIA Omniverse, Trimble has created 3D data representations for training point cloud segmentation algorithms, exploring improvements for solutions in existing products. This work has been presented at multiple NVIDIA GTC conferences, including “Deep Learning using NVIDIA Omniverse for Synthetic 3D Point Cloud Generation” and “Automating Synthetic Point Generation Sim in the Cloud.”
This approach is particularly relevant for Physical AI, which involves using trained AI models to drive the movement and behavior of physical machinery. Since these models cannot be trained exclusively on internet data like traditional language models, synthetic environments become crucial. “You can simulate almost infinite variation of sensory input, which is really what’s needed to train a robust physical AI model,” Sean explains. These ultra-realistic environments, powered by OpenUSD, enable training that translates effectively to real-world applications.
Visualizing Reality at Scale
Trimble is also pioneering performant ways to visualize reality capture data like point clouds in OpenUSD. Point clouds are essential tools used throughout construction workflows—from initial site surveys to progress monitoring and as-built versus as-designed comparisons. The company’s work with California’s Department of Transportation (Caltrans) demonstrates this capability at state scale, visualizing infrastructure data alongside point cloud captures for comprehensive digital twins. Sean detailed this collaboration in his recent GTC presentation, “Visualizing California’s Infrastructure with Caltrans’ State-Scale Digital Twins.“
These digital twins serve multiple purposes: from stakeholder communication using NVIDIA RTX visualization technology to collaborative data sharing during construction processes. The ability to create multiple versions of digital twins for different design iterations (all accessible to stakeholders including public access for permitting) represents a significant advancement in how infrastructure projects can be planned and communicated. For additional insights into this work, see this article from The American Surveyor: “Connect the Physical World to the Digital World with OpenUSD“.
Unlocking New Market Opportunities
Trimble’s collaboration with AOUSD ecosystem partners has opened up unique opportunities to drive innovation across multiple market segments. These applications demonstrate the transformative potential of OpenUSD in construction:
Urban Planning and Infrastructure: The Devon rail project shows how OpenUSD enables new collaborative workflows, where civil design data from Trimble Quadri flows seamlessly to simulation partners like SimScale for wind analysis, then back for comprehensive visualization in Omniverse.
Digital Twins in Construction: From luxury apartment projects in Eindhoven, Netherlands, to Caltrans’ bridge replacement projects in the Bay Area, OpenUSD enables teams to “build virtually before physically.” These digital twins provide interactive representations accessible to all stakeholders, including public access for permitting processes, fundamentally changing how infrastructure projects are planned and approved.
Data Pipelining for AI: With AI being only as good as the data that feeds it, Trimble’s position as a provider of highly valuable and opinionated data across customer workflows becomes crucial. Trimble Connect, with its 75 product integrations and over 800K active monthly users, serves as an extensible environment that bridges data into the OpenUSD ecosystem.
Physical Automation: These applications feed into Trimble’s broader vision of engineering a cohesive system for construction automation. The system combines robotic total stations, autonomous dozers, and Trimble’s portfolio of solutions that spans Office-to-Field and Field-to-Office workflows into what Sean describes as a comprehensive “construction robot” ecosystem.
Looking Toward the Future
Sean’s excitement about OpenUSD’s future in construction centers on several key areas. Web platform support and geospatial coordinate reference system support are immediate priorities. Looking further ahead, he envisions “streamable data” that moves beyond file-based concepts to true big data and cloud-native approaches for delivering and composing USD data during runtime.
This vision aligns with the broader transformation happening in construction, where the industry is moving toward more connected, automated, and data-driven processes. Through Trimble Connect’s extensive ecosystem, the foundation for this transformation is already in place.
Shaping the Standard
As a member of the Alliance for OpenUSD and its Steering Committee, Sean and Trimble are actively contributing to the standard’s evolution. This involvement ensures that OpenUSD develops capabilities that truly serve the needs of construction and engineering workflows, addressing the unique requirements of an industry that builds the physical infrastructure of our world.
Sean’s journey from Hollywood VFX to construction technology illustrates the universal power of OpenUSD’s approach to complex, collaborative workflows. His vision for applying these capabilities to construction challenges (from automated machinery to state-scale infrastructure visualization) demonstrates how open standards can transform entire industries by enabling new forms of collaboration and innovation. To explore how other industries are leveraging OpenUSD’s transformative potential, read about Joe Bohman’s work in industrial manufacturing at Siemens.
Join Us at Trimble Dimensions
Want to hear more from Sean Snyders? He’ll be speaking on a panel with AOUSD Steering Committee Chair Steve May, Vice Chair Guy Martin, and member Guido Quaroni at Trimble Dimensions 2025 in Las Vegas on November 12. Don’t miss it!
If your company is interested in joining the Alliance for OpenUSD, sign up to become a member. Follow AOUSD on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube, and get support from our community of artists, designers, and developers in our forum.
Join us for the second AOUSD Member Summit, where open source & standards experts, 3D pioneers, and industry leaders will discuss the next era of innovation made possible by OpenUSD.
