Download two assets from Hugging Face, assemble a scene in the GUI, and verify that your USD stage reopens correctly.
Building a robotics environment can start with a small, concrete milestone: a warehouse scene that loads correctly, keeps its materials, and can be reopened later.
This CAVEDU tutorial uses a warehouse rack and a cardboard box from NVIDIA's SimReady Assets dataset. You will download the two asset folders, arrange one rack and three boxes in Isaac Sim, and save the result as warehouse_demo.usd.
Scene assembly uses Isaac Sim's graphical interface. You will use a terminal for asset downloads, but you do not need to write an Isaac Sim Python script.
The result is a static scene foundation. Dynamic physics is a separate verification step.
What SimReady does—and what you still need to check
A conventional 3D model may focus on geometry, appearance, and materials. Simulation workflows can also require collision geometry, mass, friction, or other properties.
SimReady assets are OpenUSD assets prepared for simulation workflows, but their capabilities vary. Check each asset's profile and contents against your intended task. The label alone does not guarantee identical rigid-body, collision, sensor, or articulation settings across assets.
For this exercise, the first goal is successful asset loading and scene assembly.
1. Prepare your environment
Install Isaac Sim on a supported workstation and check the requirements for your exact release. The original tutorial references Isaac Sim 6.x menu names, which can vary between versions.
Consult the Isaac Sim system requirements and workstation installation instructions before proceeding.
Install the Hugging Face Hub package:
python -m pip install -U huggingface_hub
hf --help
If your terminal cannot find hf, reopen it and check that the package was installed in the Python environment you are using. Also check your PATH.
2. Download only the two asset folders
Open the NVIDIA SimReady Assets dataset. This example uses:
- Cardboard box:
box_corrugated_brown_b20 - Warehouse rack:
rack_large_empty_a02
From your chosen project directory, run:
hf download nvidia/simready-assets --repo-type dataset --include "box_corrugated_brown_b20/**" --local-dir ./simready-demo
hf download nvidia/simready-assets --repo-type dataset --include "rack_large_empty_a02/**" --local-dir ./simready-demo
Check that these main USD files exist:
simready-demo/box_corrugated_brown_b20/simready_usd/sm_box_corrugated_brown_b20_01.usd
simready-demo/rack_large_empty_a02/simready_usd/sm_rack_large_empty_a02_01.usd
Keep the complete asset folders. The main USD files may reference textures, materials, payloads, and other dependencies. Copying only a main file can leave the scene incomplete. If the dataset changes, follow the actual downloaded structure.
3. Create a stage, ground plane, and lighting
In Isaac Sim:
- Choose File > New to create a USD stage.
- If the stage does not already contain a physics scene, choose Create > Physics > Physics Scene.
- Add a floor with Create > Physics > Ground Plane.
- If needed, add lighting through Create > Lights > Distant Light.
4. Reference and arrange the boxes
Choose File > Add Reference and select:
simready-demo/box_corrugated_brown_b20/simready_usd/sm_box_corrugated_brown_b20_01.usd
Confirm that the asset appears in the Stage panel and the viewport, with its materials visible. If you cannot find it in the viewport, select it in the Stage panel and press F to frame it.
Select the top-level box asset node and duplicate it twice. Use the Move Tool or Transform position fields to arrange three boxes without overlap.
5. Add the rack
Use File > Add Reference again and select:
simready-demo/rack_large_empty_a02/simready_usd/sm_rack_large_empty_a02_01.usd
Move the rack behind the boxes and adjust your view so the complete scene is visible. Check the stage units and transforms if object proportions look wrong.
Warehouse scene from the original CAVEDU tutorial.
6. Check physics before testing interactions
Pressing Play does not guarantee that the boxes will fall or collide correctly. Before testing those behaviors, inspect:
- Whether the asset supports the intended simulation profile.
- Whether rigid-body behavior is enabled and appropriate for the object.
- Whether collision geometry exists.
- Whether the object is configured as static or dynamic.
- Whether the physics scene is configured correctly.
Visible geometry and collision boundaries can differ. Inspect existing settings before adding more physics components, so you do not duplicate configuration unnecessarily.
7. Save, reopen, and verify
Use File > Save As and save the stage to:
simready-demo/warehouse_demo.usd
Then choose File > Open and reopen that file.
Confirm that the rack, three boxes, ground plane, and lighting remain present; materials load correctly; and there are no missing-reference errors.
The stage still references external asset files. When moving the project to another computer, preserve the asset directories and valid reference paths, or use Isaac Sim's asset collection functionality to gather dependencies.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | First checks |
|---|---|
hf is not found |
Python environment, PATH, and a fresh terminal session |
| Asset is invisible | Main USD path, Stage node, and F to frame selection |
| Materials are missing | Complete asset folders, textures, and payloads |
| Scale looks wrong | Stage units and Transform scale |
| Assets disappear after reopening | Reference paths and external asset locations |
| No gravity or collisions | Physics Scene, rigid bodies, collision geometry, static settings, and asset profile |
Where to go next
This scene can become the starting point for a supported robot arm and pick-and-place task, an AMR navigation environment, or a synthetic-data workflow using Isaac Sim Replicator. Those extensions require their own robot, controller, sensor, and physics setup.
For a first workshop or classroom exercise, keep the acceptance criteria concrete: the scene loads, its dependencies are intact, and it reopens successfully. That gives learners a reusable foundation for the next simulation task.
Adapted into English from our original illustrated CAVEDU tutorial in Traditional Chinese. This link opens the CAVEDU website outside this platform.
For robotics simulation workshops or training inquiries, contact the CAVEDU team. This link opens our company website outside this platform.
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