Zibra AI unveils ZibraVDB compression
Originally published on 15 December 2022, and updated with details of the alpha.
Game tools developer Zibra AI has unveiled ZibraVDB, a new AI-based technology for compressing volumetric data in OpenVDB format “up to 100 times”.
Zibra AI claims the tech, available in alpha as an Unreal Engine plugin, makes it possible to display simulations of a complexity previously only possible in offline VFX in-engine.
The firm also plans to release the technology as a plugin for Houdini.
Render VFX-quality smoke and fire simulations in real time
Developed in-house at DreamWorks Animation, and open-sourced in 2012, OpenVDB quickly became the entertainment industry standard for volumetric data, and is now supported in most DCC applications.
The format is widely used to exchange volumetric data like caches for smoke and fire simulations between applications in visual effects and feature animation pipelines.
However, it has yet to be as widely adopted in game development and real-time work, in part, due to the memory footprint of OpenVDB files.
ZibraVDB aims to address that issue, with Zibra AI claiming that it can compress VDB files “up to 100 times” without significant loss of visual quality.
Integrates into Unreal Engine
Like NVIDIA’s upcoming NeuralVDB, ZibraVDB is an AI-based system, but one that will be available via off-the-shelf tools.
Its Unreal Engine plugin compresses imported VDB files created in software like Houdini or EmberGen directly inside the game engine, then decompresses and renders them in real time at runtime.
According to Zibra AI, the technology is focused on the “channels needed for rendering [fire and smoke effects], specifically density, heat and temperature”.
The firm told CG Channel that volumes processed in this way render “twice as fast” as Unreal Engine’s native SVT system, introduced in Unreal Engine 5.3.
Now available in alpha
Since we originally posted this story, Zibra AI has shelved plans to make ZibraVDB available as a Unity plugin, but is still considering a Houdini integration.
The Unreal Engine plugin has been tested by artists at VFX studios – you can see a post from Pixomondo’s Joe Raasch on LinkedIn – and it is now in wider alpha.
Price, system requirements and release date
The ZibraVDB plugin for Unreal Engine is currently available free in alpha. You can register for the alpha program, which is invite-only, on Zibra AI’s website.
Zibra AI hasn’t yet announced a final release date or pricing.
Read Zibra AI’s original blog post announcing ZibraVDB compression
Read more about ZibraVDB on Zibra AI’s website
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