SimReady Conform FET000PHYSX

Purpose

Use this exact feature skill when the selected profile, validation report, or user request names FET_000_PHYSX. It repairs or stages the PhysX physics runtime variant contract on top of neutral Core, without drifting into another runtime contract.

FET_000_PHYSX adds the PhysX runtime variant scaffolding to an asset that already satisfies neutral Core (FET_000_STANDARD@0.1.0). It does not author PhysX rigid-body/collider physics itself; that belongs to FET_003_PHYSX and related features. This skill only makes the PhysX variant set, its runnables/physics/physx payload, and its SimReady variant metadata correct.

Default to FET_000_PHYSX@0.1.0 when the user asks for this feature without a version. If the report names a different FET_000_<RUNTIME> feature (FET_000_NEWTON, FET_000_MUJOCO), switch to that feature's matching skill before editing.

To conform an asset to a profile like Robotics-Prop@3.1.0 that lists all three optional runtime variants, run all three FET_000_* runtime skills so each of PhysX, Newton, and MuJoCo ends up with both a variant set on the default prim and a SimReady_Metadata.Variants.Physics entry. Never leave a runnables/physics/<stem>.usd payload on disk without its matching variant set and metadata — an orphaned payload fails RV.007/RV.008/RV.009 for its runtime.

This skill is not the final validator and should not silently mutate source assets. It stages a repaired USD-family asset under the requested output directory, applies deterministic fixes only where safe, and stops when a validation gate still fails or a manual decision is required.

Source of Truth

Before changing an asset or package, read:

• nv_core/tiers/simready_foundation_tier_core/simready/foundation/tier_core/features/FET_000_PHYSX-0.1.0.json
• nv_core/tiers/simready_foundation_tier_core/simready/foundation/tier_core/features/FET_000_PHYSX.md
• nv_core/tiers/simready_foundation_tier_core/simready/foundation/tier_core/features/FET_000_STANDARD-0.1.0.json (dependency)
• Requirement docs for the failing IDs under nv_core/tiers/simready_foundation_tier_core/simready/foundation/tier_core/capabilities/core/runtime_variants/requirements/:
  • physx-variant-set.md (RV.001)
  • physx-runtime-payload.md (RV.002)
  • physx-variant-metadata.md (RV.003)
  • runtime-variant-section-purity.md (RV.010)
  • runtime-physics-isolation.md (RV.011)
• For the cross-runtime isolation policy that RV.010/RV.011 enforce, read nv_core/tiers/simready_foundation_tier_core/simready/foundation/tier_core/capabilities/core/runtime_variants/runtime-physics-isolation-matrix.md.
• For the PhysX payload body (mesh collision authoring), read nv_core/tiers/simready_foundation_tier_core/simready/foundation/tier_core/capabilities/physics_bodies/physics_rigid_bodies/requirements/physx-collider-mesh.md and nv_core/tiers/simready_foundation_tier_core/simready/foundation/tier_core/features/FET_003_PHYSX.md.

Treat the selected JSON manifest as authoritative for dependencies and requirement IDs.

This skill is self-contained: the deterministic guidance and worked example below are sufficient to author a conforming PhysX runtime variant from scratch. You do not need to open an existing 3.1.0 asset and copy its structure — do so only to cross-check, and only against a sample known to pass.

Sample-asset caveats (do not copy structure blindly):

• Author from the requirement docs and the worked example below, not by copying an existing asset. Sample assets drift, and a stale or pre-contract sample will lead you astray. If you do cross-check, only trust a sample you have just confirmed passes the full target profile (RV.001–011 and AA.001, not the RV-only harness) — never treat any specific asset as a canonical template.

Feature Versions

Version	Dependencies	Requirements
0.1.0	FET_000_STANDARD@0.1.0	RV.001, RV.002, RV.003, RV.010, RV.011

Inputs

Input	Requirement
usd_asset	Required USD-family asset to repair.
output_root	Required or inferred folder for staged assets and reports.
simready_profile / profile_version	Validation target, if supplied.
validation_report	Preferred JSON/markdown report from the failing gate.
physx_overrides	Optional source of the PhysX runtime override data (schemas/attributes) to place in the payload; required to fully author physx.usd content.

Workflow

1. Confirm the input exists and identify the exact selected feature/version.
2. Ensure the neutral Core gate (FET_000_STANDARD@0.1.0) is in shape first; if Core fails, hand off to simready-foundation-conform-fet-000-standard before this skill.
3. Load the FET_000_PHYSX manifest, the feature markdown, and the RV.001-RV.003 + RV.010/RV.011 requirement docs (plus the isolation matrix).
4. Create or use a staged output location unless the user explicitly asks for in-place edits.
5. Repair only RV.001, RV.002, RV.003, RV.010, and RV.011 (see Feature Guidance). Do not touch Newton/MuJoCo variants or rigid-body physics.
6. Rerun the same profile gate or the narrowest available feature/capability validation gate.
7. Summarize the selected version, changed files, validation evidence, and the first remaining blocker or next exact feature gate.

Feature Guidance

Repair each PhysX runtime variant requirement deterministically where safe:

• RV.001 (variant set): On the stage defaultPrim, add a PhysX variant set with Disabled and Enabled options and author the default selection as Disabled. Keep the Disabled variant free of runtime payloads.
• RV.002 (payload): From the Enabled variant, prepend payload = @./runnables/physics/physx.usd@ (or .usda). The payload must live inside the asset root — the directory that holds the root layer — so keep runnables/physics/ as a subfolder beside the root layer and anchor the arc with ./. Do not place runnables/ beside or above the asset root and reference it with @../runnables/physics/physx.usd@: a ../ payload that resolves above the asset root fails AA.001 (atomic-asset anchored paths) and precludes FET_001_STANDARD, even though the RV.002 payload check alone still passes — so the RV-only local harness will not catch it. Create the runnables/physics/physx.usd layer as an over layer with the same defaultPrim. .usd and .usda are interchangeable; author .usda when a binary USDC cannot be compiled.
• RV.003 (metadata): Add customLayerData.SimReady_Metadata.Variants.Physics.PhysX = {prim = <defaultPrim path>, variantSetName = "PhysX", activateOption = "Enabled"}. The Variants dict must live inside SimReady_Metadata, not as a sibling top-level customLayerData.Variants key.
• RV.010 (variant-section purity): Keep the variant sections pure. The Enabled option must contain only the prepend payload arc — no inline over/def child prims, no authored properties, no other composition arcs. The Disabled option must be completely empty. Inline variant opinions outrank payloads in USD strength ordering (LIVRPS), so any override authored in a variant section leaks into the composed result of the other runtimes. All runtime data belongs in the runnables/physics/physx.usd payload, never in the root variant edit.
• RV.011 (composed-stage isolation): The composed PhysX stage (PhysX Enabled, others Disabled) must carry only neutral UsdPhysics/physics:* data plus PhysX data (Physx* schemas, physx*: attributes). Do not author Newton (Newton*/newton:*) or MuJoCo (Mjc*/mjc:*) schemas/attributes in physx.usd. physics:approximation may use any valid PhysX token (e.g. sdf paired with PhysxSDFMeshCollisionAPI). RV.010/RV.011 are composition-wide checks: if a sibling runtime's section is impure or its payload leaks a foreign schema, report it rather than silently editing another runtime's contract.
• Neutral-base precondition (RV.011). For the physx.usd over to actually set physics:approximation = "sdf", the neutral base collider must not author physics:approximation as a local (non-variant) opinion. A local base opinion outranks the payload arc in USD strength ordering (LIVRPS: Local > … > Payload), so a base value both masks the runtime value and leaks into every runtime composition — e.g. a base convexDecomposition surfaces as an inert-leak warning under Newton, and a base sdf fails the neutral base. If the neutral base authors physics:approximation, clear that local opinion so each runnable owns its own value (PhysX sdf, MuJoCo convexHull, Newton none). See the "Value-level attribute rules" in the isolation matrix.
• Migrating a runtime-authored base (RV.011). If the asset arrives with PhysX authored directly on the neutral base — common when a prop was previously conformed to a single-runtime PhysX profile — the base collider also carries the PhysX API schemas (PhysxCollisionAPI, PhysxSDFMeshCollisionAPI) alongside PhysicsMeshCollisionAPI and the local physics:approximation. Move that runtime data into physx.usd and reduce the neutral base collider to neutral UsdPhysics only (PhysicsCollisionAPI + PhysicsMassAPI), with the mesh-collision schema and approximation living in the runnable payload. Otherwise the neutral (all-Disabled) composition still carries Physx* schemas and fails RV.011.

PhysX payload body for a single-mesh prop

For a simple prop whose collision is a single existing mesh, the physx.usd payload body is a deterministic mesh-collision delta. Apply on the collision mesh over:

• prepend apiSchemas = ["PhysxCollisionAPI", "PhysxSDFMeshCollisionAPI", "PhysicsMeshCollisionAPI"]
• custom token physics:approximation = "sdf" (SDF mesh collision, PhysX's accurate collider approximation for a static/kinematic prop mesh)

Do not create geometry; only add schemas/attributes to the mesh(es) that already exist in the neutral base.

Block and report instead of guessing when:

• The asset needs PhysX joints, drives, or scene/material tuning, or per-link collider approximation decisions that are not the uniform delta below (e.g. some links convex, others SDF). Author the variant/payload scaffolding and hand that body work off to FET_003_PHYSX/FET_004_PHYSX/FET_022_PHYSX or the supplied physx_overrides. A plain multibody prop whose colliders all take the same delta is in scope — see "Multibody / multi-collider assemblies" below.
• The collision geometry or intended collider mesh is ambiguous.
• The asset has no defaultPrim, or the intended owning prim is ambiguous.

Keep joint/articulation/drive PhysX physics work in FET_003_PHYSX/FET_004_PHYSX; this skill owns the runtime variant scaffolding plus the collision delta — one collider mesh for a single-mesh prop, or every collider mesh for a multibody assembly (below).

Multibody / multi-collider assemblies

When the neutral base is a multibody assembly — several rigid-body parts sharing one articulation (e.g. a toolbox with a hinged lid, handle, and locks) — the physx.usd payload is the same collision delta applied to every collider:

• Apply the mesh-collision over above (PhysxCollisionAPI, PhysxSDFMeshCollisionAPI, PhysicsMeshCollisionAPI + physics:approximation = "sdf") to each collider mesh in the assembly.
• Keep the payload collider-only: never re-author joints, drives, articulation, or rigid bodies in physx.usd — that topology lives once on the neutral base.

Neutral-base preconditions for a multibody assembly (owned by FET_004_STANDARD/FET_004_PHYSX, repair there — not here):

• Every collider mesh must have its local physics:approximation cleared, so each runnable owns its own value (the sdf above must win from the payload).
• The base carries the runtime-agnostic multibody topology (rigid bodies + UsdPhysics joints) and exactly one PhysicsArticulationRootAPI. If the topology or articulation root is missing, hand off to FET_004_STANDARD/FET_004_PHYSX before wiring the PhysX variant.

Worked Example: single-mesh prop

Add the PhysX variant to a single-mesh prop in four edits (illustrated with a RootNode-rooted prop; substitute your asset's defaultPrim and collider mesh path). This is authored from the requirement docs — it does not depend on any existing asset.

1. Create the payload layer runnables/physics/physx.usd inside the asset root, in a runnables/physics/ subfolder beside the root layer (e.g. simready_usd/runnables/physics/physx.usd), with the same defaultPrim as the root asset. Do not place runnables/ outside the asset root — the ./-anchored payload below must resolve within it (AA.001). Standardize on binary .usd; author the equivalent .usda below and export it to .usd (e.g. Sdf.Layer.FindOrOpen("physx.usda").Export("physx.usd")), or keep .usda if a binary cannot be compiled:

#usda 1.0
(
    defaultPrim = "RootNode"
    doc = """PhysX overrides for sm_obs_orange_a02_01.usda"""
)

over "RootNode"
{
    over "Geometry"
    {
        over "obs_orange_01_obj_01"
        {
            over "obs_orange_01_mesh_01" (
                prepend apiSchemas = ["PhysxCollisionAPI", "PhysxSDFMeshCollisionAPI", "PhysicsMeshCollisionAPI"]
            )
            {
                custom token physics:approximation = "sdf"
            }
        }
    }
}

2. In the root asset layer, add the PhysX entry to customLayerData.SimReady_Metadata.Variants.Physics (alongside any Newton/MuJoCo entries). The Variants dict lives inside SimReady_Metadata, never as a sibling top-level customLayerData.Variants key:

"PhysX" = {
    string prim = "/RootNode"
    string variantSetName = "PhysX"
    string activateOption = "Enabled"
}

3. On RootNode, add "PhysX" to prepend variantSets and add its default selection to variants (string PhysX = "Disabled").

4. Add the variantSet "PhysX" block with a payload-free Disabled option and an Enabled option that prepends the payload:

variantSet "PhysX" = {
    "Disabled" {
    }
    "Enabled" (
        prepend payload = @./runnables/physics/physx.usd@
    ) {
    }
}

Note that the Enabled option holds only the payload arc and the Disabled option is empty (RV.010), and the payload authors only PhysX + neutral data (RV.011).

Validation

The RV.001-RV.003 + RV.010/RV.011 checks live in nv_core/tiers/simready_foundation_tier_core/simready/foundation/tier_core/capabilities/core/runtime_variants/validation.py and are generated into simready.foundation.tier_core.requirements as RV_001-RV_011. To run them locally:

1. Build the core tier wheel, which is what generates the RV_001-RV_011 enums from the capability markdown: repo.bat build_tiers (writes nv_core/tiers/simready_foundation_tier_core/_build/dist/simready_foundation_tier_core-*.whl).
2. Create a Python 3.12 venv: repo.bat uv venv --python 3.12 .venv_val.
3. Install USD, the validator deps, and the tier wheel into it: repo.bat uv pip install --python .venv_val usd-core usd-validation-nvidia numpy nv_core/tiers/simready_foundation_tier_core/_build/dist/simready_foundation_tier_core-*.whl.
4. Invoke the venv Python directly (not uv run, which spawns its own venv) against a small harness that imports simready.foundation.tier_core.capabilities.core.runtime_variants.validation, calls ResetCaches() then CheckStage(stage) on each checker, and reads results via checker.GetIssues(). Installing the wheel puts the generated enums on the path, so no PYTHONPATH setup is needed.

Confirm the PhysX trio (RV_001/RV_002/RV_003) plus the isolation rules (RV_010/RV_011) pass on the Disabled-default stage. RV.011 recomposes each declared variant selection, so also spot-check that enabling PhysX composes only PhysX + neutral physics. If the environment cannot be bootstrapped, fall back to inspecting the staged USD for the variant set, anchored payload, nested SimReady_Metadata.Variants.Physics.PhysX entry, pure variant sections, and a PhysX-only payload, and report validation as inspection-only.

Limitations

• Do not silently mutate the source asset; work on the requested staged output.
• Do not author Newton or MuJoCo variants in this skill.
• Keep runtime data out of the root variant sections (RV.010) and keep the payload free of Newton/MuJoCo schemas/attributes (RV.011).
• Do not create geometry; the single-mesh collision delta only annotates existing meshes.
• Beyond the deterministic single-mesh SDF delta, do not invent PhysX runtime physics values (joints, drives, scene/material tuning) that require domain knowledge; scaffold and hand off to FET_003_PHYSX/FET_004_PHYSX/FET_022_PHYSX.

Report Fields

Field	Meaning
feature	Exact feature ID and version, for example FET_000_PHYSX@0.1.0.
input	Source asset or package inspected.
output	Staged output path, or in-place only when explicitly requested.
requirements_repaired	Requirement IDs repaired in this pass (subset of RV.001-RV.003, RV.010, RV.011).
requirements_blocked	Requirement IDs needing PhysX override data or user input.
validation	Command or inspection used to verify this exact feature.
status	passed, failed, skipped, or blocked.
next_step	The next exact feature skill or evidence needed.