AOUSD out and about - Q3 2026 community highlights. Home " AOUSD out and about - Q3 2026 community highlights. A quarter of momentum. Summer moved fast for the AOUSD community. Between new software releases, a packed SIGGRAPH program, and several new members, Q3 2026 highlighted the momentum of the OpenUSD ecosystem as it continues expanding into new areas and use cases. Here's what AOUSD members have been building, releasing, and presenting over the past three months. Growing the Alliance. AOUSD welcomed new General Members in July: ByteDance, Huawei, Physicl and Unity. Physicl joined as a contributor to the Physics Working Group, where it plans to help develop a normative physics schema so simulation data can move reliably between tools. ByteDance's arrival coincided with its participation in SIGGRAPH 2026, where it presented a workshop on efficient 3D content creation for immersive experiences. Unity's membership, meanwhile, brings another major real-time and game-development platform into the Alliance. AOUSD takeaway: New members from physics simulation, game development, and immersive media point to OpenUSD's reach well beyond its animation and VFX roots. Autodesk. Autodesk continues to expand its support for OpenUSD across its content-creation tools, including Maya and 3ds Max. Maya's new Dynamic Payloads bring more procedural flexibility to USD workflows. Artists can convert a Bifrost asset to USD while preserving its procedural capabilities. The result is an asset that stays lightweight, fully procedural, and easy to share. Watch the walkthrough and Bifrost release notes for more details. Maya and 3ds Max also picked up a new Path Editor that brings every path on a stage into one view for easier management, covered in the docs for Maya and 3ds Max. And in July, Khronos Group announced Autodesk's sponsorship of an open source glTF importer/exporter for 3ds Max, broadening interoperability between OpenUSD and other open 3D formats. AOUSD takeaway: Autodesk is deepening USD support directly inside its core content-creation tools while also investing in interoperability with adjacent open standards. Pixar. In July, Pixar helped deliver OpenUSD v26.08, bringing new features and improvements to the ecosystem. It later opened its newest RenderMan art challenge, Diorama Drama - running July 22 through October 19 and the first built around XPU. The challenge invites artists to build a character-centered story inside an isometric environment using USD models contributed by BigMediumSmall, KitBash3D, and Netflix/Tonko House, with shading, lighting, rendering, and compositing all in play and prizes including a Dell mobile workstation powered by AMD and NVIDIA. Then in July, Pixar and Autodesk jointly led an OpenUSD session at SIGGRAPH 2026 covering composition, rendering, physics, and other OpenUSD technologies. AOUSD takeaway: Between a new USD release and a challenge built on USD assets contributed by multiple studios, Pixar keeps investing in both the format itself and the creative community that uses it. NVIDIA. NVIDIA centered on connecting OpenUSD with agentic AI. In July, NVIDIA expanded its Agent Toolkit with new Omniverse libraries built on OpenUSD, giving AI agents the ability to inspect 3D scenes, generate sensor outputs, test physics, and convert CAD data into OpenUSD-based simulation-ready assets. NVIDIA also provided developer guidance on how AI agents can help teams prepare 3D scenes for simulation and develop lightweight USD runtimes. AOUSD takeaway: NVIDIA's work is a strong signal of where the ecosystem is headed, connecting OpenUSD with agentic AI so both developers and AI agents can build and validate 3D pipelines faster. PTC. PTC was highlighted this quarter for a multi-agent workflow that automatically prepares CAD models in OpenUSD for robotics simulation - an example of USD acting as the connective layer between design and physical AI. AOUSD takeaway: Industrial CAD-to-simulation pipelines are another sign that OpenUSD's role is expanding from content creation into engineering and robotics workflows. XGRIDS. This quarter's Meet the Visionary profile featured XGRIDS' Mindy Li on how the company connects LiDAR, imagery, point clouds, and 3D Gaussian Splatting data with visualization, simulation, digital twin, and physical AI workflows using OpenUSD - XGRIDS is also contributing to community work on representing large-scale 3DGS datasets and level of detail in OpenUSD. AOUSD takeaway: Reality capture and geospatial data are a real growth area for OpenUSD, extending the standard from synthetic 3D content into representations of the physical world. A widening ecosystem. These developments show just how much the OpenUSD ecosystem is broadening. Members are applying the standard across AI, developer tooling, reality capture, geospatial data, robotics, industrial workflows, and entertainment - bringing new use cases and perspectives into the community. At the same time, continued growth is bringing more organizations to the table to help shape where OpenUSD goes next. Q3 was a strong reminder that OpenUSD is becoming more than a way to exchange 3D data; it is helping connect workflows, tools, and industries around a shared foundation for interoperability. Interested in joining the Alliance? Sign up to become a member, follow AOUSD on LinkedIn and X, and join the conversation on the community forum.

Flying Buzz Lightyear arrives on Disney Store. September 25, 2026 This week, Toy Story 5 arrived on Disney+. As the newest chapter in the Toy Story franchise takes fans into a new era of tech and toys, a new high-tech Buzz Lightyear has arrived on DisneyStore.com. This Buzz Lightyear toy can fly! This is a remote-controlled Buzz Lightyear that allows fans of all ages to take this fan-favorite character "to infinity and beyond!" Below are the specifics about this new toy. It is just one of many new Toy Story 5 offerings that are now available on the Disney Store. The full lineup can be found on the Disney Store Toy Story page. The adventure of Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 5 reaches new heights with the Flying RC Hi-Tech Edition Buzz Lightyear. This Space Ranger is flying high with an easy-to-use remote control and two flying positions for in-flight translations - hover and stunt. With an easy take-off and landing feature, rechargeable battery and game joystick controls, this figure really flies - just like in the movie! Magic in the details * Detailed action figure* * Poseable arms * Includes eight propellors * Full function control * Features 360-degree maneuvering, up and down controls, forward and backwards as well as side-to-side * Easy take-off and landing buttons make it simple to launch from the ground and into the air, and back down again * Flying RC Buzz Lightyear is made of a lightweight, durable foam and plastic material for sustained flight * Star Command-inspired remote control design * 2.4 GHz * Recharge Buzz battery using USB cable (included) * Designed specifically for indoor use * Inspired by Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 5 (2026) * Colors and decorations may vary.The bare necessities * For children ages 8 and up * Buzz includes rechargeable battery, with USB cable * PVC / electronics * Approx. 8" H x 9 1/2" L x 3" D * Imported The Disney Store Toy Story page has this toy, other toys, apparel, decorations, figures, and more. Toy Story 5 can now be watched on Disney+. What do you think of this flying Buzz Lightyear? Will you be getting it for yourself or as a gift for someone? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below! This post contains affiliate links that help support Daps Magic. Mr. Daps is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Daps Magic, a premier Disney news community established in 2004. With over 20 years of experience as a journalist and media creator, he has become a trusted voice in the Disney fandom, appearing as an expert on KTLA, NPR, and the Orange County Register. Known for his signature trilby and bow tie, Mr. Daps provides optimistic, informed coverage of the Disney Parks, Pixar, and Marvel. He is the weekly host of Geeks Corner and a proud Her Universe Brand Ambassador. Follow his adventures on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads, or join the conversation live on the Daps Magic YouTube channel. If you see him at Disneyland, be sure to say hi!