Introductory

Isaac Sim Environmental Setup

Omniverse Isaac Sim is built on NVIDIA Omniverse using tools provided in Omniverse Kit.
Omniverse Kit comes with a default UI that allows the user to edit a USD stage with ease.
Tutorial Introduction
Setting up an environment
Adding and editing simple objects and their properties on a USD stage
Rigging rigid bodies with joints and articulations
Adding cameras and sensors
=> Have the basic skill to navigate Omniverse Isaac Sim, become familiar with frequently used terms, and be able to build an environment and set up your robots via the graphical interface.

Learning Objectives

How to build a physics-enabled virtual world using the tools provided in the Omniverse Isaac Sim GUI
(1)Setup global stage properties
(2)Setup global physics properties
(3)Add ground plane
(4)Add lighting

Getting Started

Prerequisites
Isaac Sim Interface tutorial
File > New:
Start with the clean stage provided at the opening of Omniverse Isaac Sim
Has a default World Xform, and a defaultLight. Both can be found on the stage tree on the left under the Stage tag

Setting up Stage Properties

Check if the current stage property setup matches the conventions that you are expecting
Edit > Preferences: Open up the Preference panel. Browse the many types of setting inside Omniverse Kit grouped into categories in the column on the left of the panel

Stage: Examine properties



Axis that determines Up: Default in Omniverse Isaac Sim is Z. If asset is created in a program with a different up-axis, it will cause your assets to be imported rotated
Stage units: Have in centimeters, but the default is now meters
Default rotation order: X > Y > Z

Creating the Physics Scene

Start by adding a Physics Scene to provide the general physics simulation properties to the world, (ex. gravity and physics time steps)
Go to the Menu Bar
Click Create > Physics > Physics Scene

PhysicsScene should be added to the stage tree

PhysicsScene properties
Gravity is set to point at the -Z direction with a magnitude of 9.8(default unit of length is meters)
Unless simulating hundreds of rigid bodies and robots, it is more efficient to use a CPU solver instead of GPU
Disable GPU dynamics and use MBP Broadphase inside the Physics Scene’s Property tab

Adding a Ground Plane

Add a ground plane to the virtual environment
The ground plane will prevent any physics-enabled objects from falling below it
Go to the top Menu Bar
Click Create > Physics > Ground Plane

-Ground plane’s collision property extends indefinitely even though the plane is only visible up to 25 meters in each direction. Turning on the grid makes the ground plane easier to see

Lighting

New Stage is pre-populated with a defaultLight — otherwise you wouldn’t see anything
Exercise: Create an additional spotlight as an exercise
(1)Add a ground plane so we can see the reflection of the light
Create > Physics > Ground Plane.
(2)Create Sphere Light
Go to Create > Light > Sphere Light
(3)Move it up and turn it face down by moving it 7 units up and void the rotation in X and Y axis

Translate: z - 700.0
Orient: x - 0.0, y - 0.0
(4)Change in Main
Inside the Property Tab
Simply click on the color bar and pick a color of your choice(Change its color in Main > Color)

Main > Intensity to 1e6;

Main > Radius to 0.05

Limit the scope of the spot
Shaping->cone > Angle to 45 degrees
Soften the edge of the spotlight
Shaping-> cone > Softness to 0.05

Property tab > Set Main->Intensity to 300(To make the spotlight easier)

Summary

Begins the series of steps to create a virtual world suitable for physics simulation and testing Omniverse Isaac Sim
Adding a ground plane, lighting, and physics scene

Reference:
https://docs.omniverse.nvidia.com/isaacsim/latest/gui_tutorials/tutorial_intro_environment_setup.html#isaac-sim-app-tutorial-intro-environment-setup