Keep partitioned environments visible in viewport and XR views

[rwiltz]

#Description

AppLauncher enables the all-environment spectator view by passing
--/rtx/scenePartitioning/showAllPartitionsByDefault=true whenever a Kit visualizer,
viewport, recording, livestream, or XR is requested. The Kit builds shipped with the
pinned Isaac Sim (6.0.1.0, Kit 110.1.2+production.326809) do not implement that
setting — it appears nowhere in the omni.hydra.rtx binaries.

Since per-environment scene partitioning became the default in #7053, RTX therefore
culls every prim carrying omni:scenePartition from cameras without a matching token.
The Kit viewport and the XR view carry no token, so partitioned environments vanish from
both while environment-scoped camera sensors still render them. RTX honors the token
only for non-instanced geometry, so the failure looks selective: on
IsaacContrib-PickPlace-Locomanipulation-G1-Abs the robot and packing table (USD
instance proxies) render, while the steering wheel and bin (plain meshes) appear only in
the XR picture-in-picture feed.

KitVisualizer._apply_viewport_camera_scene_partition() has a working fallback that
tags the viewport camera with env_0, but it is skipped because the ineffective setting
reads back as true. Nothing tags the XR camera at all.

This defaults per-environment scene partitioning off for launches that render a view
without a partition token, in the same AppLauncher branch that already decides visual
output intent. Partitioning only isolates per-environment camera renders, which a
spectator launch does not need. The Kit argument is still passed, so relaxing the gate
is a one-line change once the Isaac Sim bump #7053 assumed (alpha.50 / Kit 360924) lands.

Precedence is unchanged: an explicit ISAAC_LAB_ENABLE_ISAAC_RTX_PER_ENV_SCENE_PARTITION
or a task-set IsaacRtxRendererCfg.enable_scene_partitioning still wins.

Reproducer:

  uv run --extra teleop isaaclab teleop run \
    --task IsaacContrib-PickPlace-Locomanipulation-G1-Abs --visualizer kit --xr

Type of change

• Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)

Checklist

• I have read and understood the contribution guidelines
• I have run the pre-commit checks with ./isaaclab.sh --format
• I have made corresponding changes to the documentation
• My changes generate no new warnings
• I have added tests that prove my fix is effective or that my feature works
• I have added a changelog fragment under source/<pkg>/changelog.d/ for every touched package (do not edit CHANGELOG.rst or bump extension.toml — CI handles that)
• I have added my name to the CONTRIBUTORS.md or my name already exists there

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR keeps partitioned environments visible in untokened viewport and XR views by disabling per-environment RTX scene partitioning by default for spectator launches while preserving explicit configuration precedence.

• Adds a mutable scene-partitioning fallback consumed when the environment variable is unset.
• Applies the disabled fallback when AppLauncher detects viewport, visualizer, recording, livestream, or XR output.
• Adds launcher and renderer utility tests covering spectator intent and explicit environment overrides.
• Documents the behavioral change and new helper in a changelog fragment.

Confidence Score: 5/5

The PR appears safe to merge, with no concrete blocking or independently actionable non-blocking issues identified.

The changed launcher path preserves explicit scene-partitioning overrides, and the accompanying tests cover both spectator defaults and environment-variable precedence.

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
source/isaaclab/isaaclab/app/app_launcher.py	Spectator-output detection now disables the fallback for per-environment scene partition authoring while retaining the existing Kit argument.
source/isaaclab/isaaclab/utils/renderers.py	Adds a process-level default setter and preserves environment-variable precedence when resolving scene partitioning.
source/isaaclab/test/app/test_app_launcher_argv.py	Extends launcher tests to verify spectator launches disable the fallback and explicit opt-in remains effective.
source/isaaclab/test/utils/test_renderers.py	Tests the mutable fallback and environment-variable override behavior.
source/isaaclab/changelog.d/rwiltz-spectator-scene-partitioning.minor.rst	Documents the viewport/XR visibility fix, override mechanisms, and new renderer utility.

Flowchart

%%{init: {'theme': 'neutral'}}%%
flowchart TD
    A[AppLauncher resolves output intent] --> B{Spectator view requested?}
    B -- No --> C[Keep scene partitioning enabled by default]
    B -- Yes --> D[Pass showAllPartitionsByDefault Kit argument]
    D --> E[Set per-environment partitioning fallback to disabled]
    E --> F{Explicit environment or renderer config override?}
    F -- Yes --> G[Use explicit value]
    F -- No --> H[Do not author per-environment partition tokens]
    H --> I[Partitioned geometry remains visible in viewport and XR]

Loading

_{Reviews (1): Last reviewed commit: "Keep partitioned environments visible in..." | Re-trigger Greptile}

[isaaclab-review-bot]

Isaac Lab Review Bot

The change defaults per-environment RTX scene partitioning off for visual-output launches so cameras without partition tokens can display environments on the pinned Kit build. The candidate concern about video and livestream changing camera-sensor content is not established by the supplied context; those modes already share the spectator-view requirement targeted by the fix.

• Design and architecture: The process-wide renderer fallback is set during AppLauncher Kit-argument resolution and consumed when IsaacRtxRendererCfg derives its default. This is a deliberate compatibility path for viewport, recording, livestream, and XR output, while non-spectator launches retain the existing enabled default.
• API: The new setter is documented and changelog-covered. The environment variable continues to take precedence, invalid values still raise, and an explicit IsaacRtxRendererCfg value remains authoritative. The mutable module-level default introduces process-wide state, but the patch documents that behavior and isolates it in tests.
• Implementation: The AppLauncher trigger, Kit setting injection, renderer-default lookup, environment override, and test reset paths were traced. Tests cover visual-output intent and environment-variable precedence. No supplied evidence demonstrates that the intended video or livestream branches corrupt environment-scoped camera output.

No blocking issues. No inline issue met the actionable-evidence threshold; the assessment above records the review feedback.

Automated review; human maintainers own approval decisions.

[nvsekkin]

flipping this here would revert the default behavior we flipped. once the public package includes the fix we won't need this. maybe we can mark this with a temporary workaround or we can condition on isaac sim version