urdf-usd-converter

What it is and what it does

urdf-usd-converter translates URDF (Unified Robot Description Format) files into OpenUSD (Universal Scene Description) assets, enabling robot models to be used in modern 3D graphics and simulation ecosystems. It reads URDF XML definitions—which specify robot structure, geometry, materials, and physics properties—and outputs a self-contained USD layer that can be loaded into any OpenUSD-compatible application or physics engine.

The converter handles mesh geometry parsing via tinyobjloader, pycollada, and numpy-stl, supports ROS package path resolution, and structures output as an Atomic Component suitable for visualization in tools like usdview or simulation in Newton physics. It is available both as a Python module for programmatic use and as a command-line tool, making it useful for batch conversions or integration into larger pipelines.

Use it for:

• Convert robot URDF models from ROS projects into USD format for visualization in NVIDIA Omniverse or other USD viewers.
• Prepare robot assets for physics simulation in Newton by converting URDF definitions with collision geometry and joint constraints.
• Batch-convert a library of robot descriptions from URDF to USD for use in graphics or simulation applications.
• Integrate URDF-to-USD conversion into a Python pipeline to programmatically transform and further modify robot assets.
• Export robot geometry and materials from URDF into a standalone USD artifact for sharing or archival without source file dependencies.

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Converts URDF robot description files into OpenUSD format, preserving visual geometry, materials, collision data, and joint definitions for use in USD-compatible applications and physics simulators.

Yes, if you need to convert URDF robot models to OpenUSD format for visualization or physics simulation. The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and low install friction. However, it is currently Alpha software, so expect potential API changes and verify that its feature set covers your specific URDF complexity before committing to production workflows.

Install

urdf-usd-converter on PyPI

pip install urdf-usd-converter

uv add urdf-usd-converter

poetry add urdf-usd-converter

Installing urdf-usd-converter

Before you install

Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel and five runtime dependencies. The package is actively maintained with a recent release (7 days old) and no known vulnerabilities. However, it is marked as Alpha, so stability and API changes should be expected.

License in practice

Licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive), allowing commercial and private use with minimal restrictions. You must include a copy of the license and note any modifications, but there are no copyleft obligations.

Quickstart

pip install urdf-usd-converter
urdf_usd_converter /path/to/robot.urdf /path/to/output_usd

# Or via Python:
import urdf_usd_converter
converter = urdf_usd_converter.Converter()
asset = converter.convert("/path/to/robot.urdf", "/path/to/output_usd")

Requires Python 3.10 or later (capped below 3.13). ROS package references in URDF files may require manual path specification via --package CLI argument or ros_packages parameter.

Verify before relying

• Whether the Alpha status implies breaking API changes are likely in near-term releases.
• Performance characteristics and scalability limits for large or complex URDF models.
• Completeness of URDF feature support beyond visual geometry, materials, and basic collision/joint data.

Package facts

Evidence: urdf_usd_converter-0.3.3-py3-none-any.whl

Tags

More Scientific/Engineering packages