Studio RD101 Accelerates Metaverse Content Production with High-Performance Quantum Storage

An established leader in VFX, RD101 has ventured into the metaverse—virtual reality and mixed reality worlds where people and businesses can interact. RD101 has created an R&D center to build metaspaces and produce digital content for businesses that are establishing their presence in these new worlds.

As part of its metaverse journey, RD101 is also creating “metahumans.” The studio uses patented technology to develop highly realistic digital representations of people with lifelike expressions and emotions. Over time, RD101 can help advertisers subtly adjust metahumans to match evolving changes in consumer tastes. Creating metahumans requires a powerful storage environment. RD101 needed storage that could deliver the optimal combination of scalability, performance, and support for collaborative workflows.

Pinpointing Storage Requirements for Metaverse Content
To create digital representations of humans, RD101 uses 4D scanning technology that captures eye, lip, and other facial movements as 6K sequential images. Images captured at 60 fps by 22 cameras produce 1 TB of new data every second. To process and store these images, RD101 needs storage with large and scalable capacity.

Performance is also key. A high data I/O rate is essential for ensuring fast processing of captured images and newly generated data. Storage systems also must perform repetitive simulation tasks rapidly. Collaboration requires robust performance as well. Whether creating metaverse characters or working on more typical post-production tasks, multiple team members must be able to work on the same project, simultaneously, without slowdowns.

Implementing Robust, End-to-End Storage with Quantum
To meet the rigorous requirements of all the studio’s projects, RD101 implemented an end-to-end storage solution from Quantum. The StorNext 7 platform provides a high-speed, collaborative file system that is ideal for working with the large ultra-high-definition video files that RD101 is capturing and creating.

The StorNext 7 File System runs on Xcellis Workflow Director and Extender systems to support integrated management of the entire storage system operating environment. Quantum F-Series NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) storage provides the ultra-high-speed performance needed for demanding work. The solution also includes QXS Disk Storage as lower-tier storage.

“The Quantum solution provides high-performance, high-availability, shared, and unified storage that is optimized for studio editing, rendering, and other performance-intensive workloads, such as creating metaverse content,” says Kwon Kyung-dal, CEO of RD101.

Tapping into High-Performance Storage
The F-Series NVMe storage server provides outstanding performance from a single 2U chassis. That performance enables real-time editing of 8K 60 fps high-resolution content without dropping frames. The combination of an NVMe system with StorNext, Xcellis, and a 100 Gb network gives RD101 the speed for performance-intensive collaborative workflows. Now the team can work together to produce metahumans, generate exciting VFX, and complete post-production projects while meeting tight deadlines.

Maintaining Reliability and Gaining Scalability for the Future
With the Quantum solution, Studio RD101 has a reliable storage environment that is backed by strong support. The RD101 team can maintain that reliability even as it scales storage capacity to accommodate growing volumes of large files. Tiering helps RD101 store data for long periods of time while still providing ready access to content.

Preparing for a Fast-Changing Field
With the Quantum solution in place, the RD101 team is well prepared for the future of the metaverse and demand for any other new types of content. “We can survive only by changing the existing production environment to connect new opportunities with profits and meet consumer expectations,” says Kwon Kyung-dal.