Format Will Add Options for Real-Time Workflow; V-Ray Rendering Support Also Enabled via Plugin
X-Rite’s AxF standard for sharing properties of physical materials got a boost at SIGGRAPH from Epic Games, which has integrated AxF in its Unreal Studio 4.20.
Unreal Studio users can use AxF to import materials that were physically scanned using X-Rite Pantone scanners as Unreal Engine materials, meaning they will look the same across platforms using Unreal Engine. That also means those materials can be used in real-time VR and AR experiences.
X-Rite Pantone TAC7 scanner
“Our customers who want to achieve the highest fidelity to real-world materials can now use the AxF format and scanners from X-Rite to bring measured materials into their UE4-based visualization process,” said Unreal Studio Product Manager Ken Imentel in a prepared statement. “The combination of Unreal Engine and AxF means customers can now better match the virtual world to the real world to make better design decisions.”
X-Rite also announced a new AxF plug-in for Chaos Group’s V-Ray at SIGGRAPH, bringing support for scanned materials to the widely used rendering system.
“We listened to our customers who asked for the ability to use AxF files on V-Ray and are now very excited to deliver this plugin to the market,” said X-Rite and Pantone EVP and CTO Dr. Francis Lamy in a prepared statement. “AxF support in such a popular rendering engine as V-Ray is an important step for workflow simplification and physically correct digital appearance democratization.”
X-Rite describes AxF as a “vendor-neutral” file format that enables heavy compression of raw data for ease of use with third-party software applications. According to X-Rite, in addition to V-Ray and Unreal Engine, AxF can now be used with Allegorithmic Substance Designer, AMD Radeon ProRender, Autodesk VRED Professional 2018, Gerber Technology YuniquePLM and AccuMark, Human Solutions Assyst Vidya, Lumiscaphe Patchwork 3D, Luxion KeyShot, Material Exchange platform, Next Limit Maxwell, and NVIDIA Iray.
X-Rite’s Total Appearance Capture ecosystem — including the TAC7 scanner, Pantora Material Hub desktop application, and a 3D visualization application for assessing the fidelity of material scans called Virtual Light Booth — will be demonstrated in Unreal Engine and V-Ray workflows at X-Rite’s SIGGRAPH booth #401.
