Existing Standards

These standards are finalized and have established adoption in the industry.

StandardOrganizationStatusScopeAdoption
glTF 2.0Khronos GroupFinal3D asset interchangeHigh
OpenUSDAOUSDFinal (24.11)Scene description, industrialMedium
OpenXRKhronos GroupFinalXR device APIHigh
WebXR Device APIW3CFinalWeb-based XRMedium
VRMVRM ConsortiumFinalAnime-style avatarsMedium (Japan)
ONNXLF AIFinalML model interchangeHigh

glTF 2.0

The primary interchange format for 3D assets with broad engine support.

  • Scope: Geometry, materials, textures, animations
  • AI Relevance: Most AI tools export to glTF
  • Gap: No AI generation metadata extension exists

OpenUSD

The emerging scene description standard for complex scenes.

  • Scope: Scene composition, hierarchies, variants
  • AI Relevance: NVIDIA Cosmos native format
  • Gap: No AI generation schemas defined

Standards in Development

These standards are actively being developed and not yet finalized.

StandardOrganizationExpected DateScopeRelevance
KHR_gaussian_splattingKhronos GroupUnknown (no timeline)3D Gaussian splat in glTFCritical for neural representations
KHR_gaussian_splatting_compression_spz_2Khronos + NianticUnknownSPZ compression for splatsEnables practical file sizes
KHR_interactivityKhronos GroupDraftBehavior graphs in glTFPartial affordance solution
OpenUSD Core Spec 1.0AOUSD2025-2026Foundational stabilityEnterprise adoption driver
OpenUSD Physics ExtensionAOUSDExploringPhysics representationGame engine alignment

KHR_gaussian_splatting

Critical for this domain - enables neural representation interchange.

AspectStatus
ProposalPR #2490 on GitHub
TimelineNo ratification date
CompressionSPZ_2 being developed
Engine SupportPending standard

KHR_interactivity

Provides behavior graphs in glTF - partial solution for affordances.

AspectStatus
StatusDraft
ScopeVisual behavior graphs
GapNo semantic vocabulary for affordances

De Facto Standards (Not Formalized)

These practices are widely used but not formally standardized.

PracticeOriginAdoptionFormalization Candidate?
PLY for Gaussian splatsAcademic conventionHigh (neural tools)No - KHR_gaussian_splatting supersedes
JSON generation parametersCommon practiceMediumYes - MSF could propose schema
Seed-based reproducibilityIndustry practiceHighYes - MSF determinism work
FBX for rigged assetsAutodesk proprietaryHighNo - proprietary format
SPZ compressionNiantic open sourceGrowingYes - being standardized via KHR

JSON Generation Parameters

Many tools export generation parameters as JSON, but with no common schema:

// World Labs Marble (example)
{
  "prompt": "medieval castle courtyard",
  "seed": 42,
  "model_version": "2.1",
  "generation_time_ms": 45000
}

// Meshy (different schema)
{
  "input_text": "medieval castle courtyard",
  "random_seed": 42,
  "meshy_version": "5.0"
}

Opportunity: MSF could propose a unified schema for AI generation metadata.


Standards Coverage Map

Standards Coverage by Domain

Full Coverage
Partial Coverage
Minimal Coverage
No Coverage

Core 3D

3D Geometry 100%
Full Coverage
Textures/Materials 100%
Full Coverage

AI-Specific

Neural Representations (3DGS) 40%
Partial Coverage
AI Generation Metadata 0%
No Coverage

Runtime

Physics/Collision 60%
Partial Coverage
Navigation Mesh 40%
Partial Coverage
Affordances 20%
Minimal Coverage

Provenance

3D Provenance 0%
No Coverage
Determinism 0%
No Coverage
World Package 0%
No Coverage
36% Average Coverage
2 full 3 partial 4 no 1 minimal

Critical Gaps (0% Coverage)

  1. AI Generation Metadata - No standard schema for prompts, seeds, model versions
  2. 3D Provenance - C2PA covers images/video but not 3D formats
  3. Determinism - No specification for reproducible generation across systems
  4. World Package - No portable format for complete AI-generated worlds

Partial Coverage (20-60%)

  1. Neural Representations - KHR_gaussian_splatting in draft
  2. Affordances - KHR_interactivity provides partial solution
  3. Navigation Mesh - Recast is de facto but not standardized
  4. Physics - Engine implementations only, no interchange standard

Full Coverage (100%)

  1. 3D Geometry - glTF, USD, FBX well-established
  2. Textures/Materials - PBR workflow standardized

Standards by SDO

Khronos Group

  • glTF 2.0 (Final)
  • OpenXR (Final)
  • KHR_gaussian_splatting (Draft)
  • KHR_interactivity (Draft)

AOUSD (Alliance for OpenUSD)

  • OpenUSD Core Spec (24.11)
  • Physics Extension (Exploring)

W3C

  • WebXR Device API (Final)
  • WebGPU (Developing)

C2PA Coalition

  • Content Authenticity Spec (No 3D support)

LF AI

  • ONNX (Final)