HoloScript Beyond VR — IoT, Digital Twins & Robotics

Date: 2026-03-20 | Source: 8 existing example files, 3 industrial compilers, 253+ IoT/robotics traits

HoloScript is not a VR-only tool. The same .holo compositions that render in a headset compile to URDF for ROS 2 robots, DTDL for Azure Digital Twins, SDF for Gazebo simulation, and MQTT for IoT device networks. This document indexes the existing non-spatial examples and shows real compilation output.

Existing Examples

Example	Path	Lines	Vertical	Compiles To
Smart Home IoT	`examples/domain-starters/iot/iot-starter.holo`	357	Consumer IoT	R3F, Unity, OpenXR
Smart Factory Twin	`examples/specialized/iot/smart-factory-twin.holo`	521	Industrial	DTDL, Azure IoT
Smart Building BIM	`examples/cross-domain/smart-building.holo`	489	Architecture+IoT	R3F, Unity, WebGPU
Robot Arm Simulation	`examples/specialized/robotics/robot-arm-simulation.holo`	617	Robotics	URDF, SDF, ROS 2
Robot Training Metaverse	`examples/novel-use-cases/05-robot-training-metaverse.holo`	—	Sim-to-Real	URDF, SDF, Unity
Industrial Safety	`examples/IndustrialExpansionPOC.holo`	117	Safety Monitoring	DTDL
Robotics Benchmark	`benchmarks/cross-compilation/compositions/15-robotics.holo`	86	Robotics	URDF, SDF, DTDL
Manufacturing Benchmark	`benchmarks/cross-compilation/compositions/06-manufacturing.holo`	65	Assembly Line	URDF, SDF, DTDL

Example 1: Smart Home IoT Dashboard

File: examples/domain-starters/iot/iot-starter.holo (357 lines)

12 connected devices, MQTT telemetry, energy monitoring — no headset required.

holo

composition "IoT Starter" {
  metadata {
    category: 'iot'
    platforms: ['r3f', 'unity', 'openxr']
  }

  state HomeState {
    temperature: 21.5
    targetTemperature: 22.0
    humidity: 45
    energyUsage: 2.4              // kWh
    doorStatus: "closed"
    lightBrightness: 80
    motionDetected: false
    hvacMode: "auto"              // "heat" | "cool" | "auto" | "off"
    deviceCount: 12
  }

  template "SensorCard" {
    @sensor
    @billboard
    @anchor
    geometry: "plane"
  }

  object "Thermostat" {
    @sensor
    @actuator
    @telemetry_stream
    behavior "ThermostatControl" {
      protocol: "mqtt"
      topic: "home/climate/thermostat"
    }
  }

  system "MQTTBroker" {
    host: "mqtt://192.168.1.100:1883"
    topics: ["home/#"]
  }

  system "HomeAssistantBridge" {
    endpoint: "http://homeassistant.local:8123/api"
    token: "${HA_TOKEN}"
  }
}

Use case: Mount a tablet on the wall running the R3F compile target as a smart home dashboard. Or compile to Unity for a 3D building walkthrough showing live sensor data.

Example 2: Smart Factory Digital Twin

File: examples/specialized/iot/smart-factory-twin.holo (521 lines)

48 connected devices, predictive maintenance, Azure Digital Twins export.

holo

composition "Smart Factory" {
  metadata {
    category: 'industrial'
    platforms: ['dtdl', 'azure']
  }

  object "ConveyorLineA" {
    @digital_twin
    @collidable
    geometry: "cube"
    position: [-5, 0.5, 0]
    scale: [12, 0.3, 2]

    behavior "ConveyorBelt" {
      speed: 0.5              // m/s
      direction: [1, 0, 0]
      protocol: "opc-ua"
      endpointUrl: "opc.tcp://plc-line-a:4840"
    }
  }

  object "MotorA1" {
    @digital_twin
    @sensor
    position: [-8, 0.8, -1.2]
    behavior "MotorTwin" {
      ratedPower: 7500        // watts
      ratedRPM: 1450
      telemetry: {
        vibration: { unit: "mm/s", threshold: 4.5 }
        temperature: { unit: "°C", threshold: 85 }
        current: { unit: "A", threshold: 15.0 }
      }
    }
  }

  system "AzureDigitalTwins" {
    instanceUrl: "https://factory-dt.api.weu.digitaltwins.azure.net"
    modelId: "dtmi:factory:ConveyorLine;1"
  }

  system "PredictiveMaintenance" {
    model: "isolation_forest"
    features: ["vibration", "temperature", "current"]
    alertThreshold: 0.85
  }
}

Compilation target: holoscript compile smart-factory-twin.holo --target dtdl produces Azure DTDL JSON for import into Azure Digital Twins.

Example 3: Robot Arm with ROS 2

File: benchmarks/cross-compilation/compositions/15-robotics.holo (86 lines)

6-DOF robot arm with revolute joints, physics simulation, ROS 2 bridge.

holo

composition "Robotics Benchmark" {
  metadata {
    category: 'robotics'
    platforms: ['urdf', 'sdf', 'openxr', 'unity', 'unreal', 'dtdl']
  }

  environment {
    physics_engine: "ode"
    gravity: [0, 0, -9.81]
  }

  template "RevoluteJoint" {
    @rotatable
    geometry: "cylinder"
    behavior "RevoluteJoint" {
      axis: [0, 0, 1]
      lowerLimit: -3.14159
      upperLimit: 3.14159
      maxVelocity: 2.094
      maxTorque: 150.0
    }
  }

  spatial_group "RobotArm" {
    origin: [0, 0.2, 0]
    object "J1" using "RevoluteJoint" {
      behavior: { axis: [0, 1, 0], maxTorque: 150.0 }
    }
    object "UpperArm" {
      @physics
      geometry: "cube"
      position: [0, 0.2, 0]
      scale: [0.08, 0.4, 0.08]
      physics: { mass: 3.5 }
    }
  }

  system "ROS2Bridge" {
    nodeName: '/robot_benchmark'
    publishRate: 125
    topics: { jointStates: '/joint_states' }
  }
}

Real URDF Output (from benchmark run)

xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!-- Auto-generated by HoloScript URDFCompiler v2.0 -->
<!-- Target: ROS 2 / Gazebo / MoveIt 2 / RViz2 -->

<robot name="HoloScriptRobot">
  <material name="default">
    <color rgba="0.8 0.8 0.8 1"/>
  </material>

  <link name="base_link">
    <inertial>
      <mass value="0.001"/>
      <inertia ixx="0.001000" ixy="0" ixz="0"
               iyy="0.001000" iyz="0" izz="0.001000"/>
    </inertial>
  </link>
</robot>

Real SDF Output (from benchmark run)

xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<sdf version="1.8">
  <world name="holoscript_world">
    <physics name="default_physics" type="ode">
      <max_step_size>0.001</max_step_size>
      <real_time_factor>1</real_time_factor>
      <real_time_update_rate>1000</real_time_update_rate>
      <ode>
        <solver>
          <type>quick</type>
          <iters>50</iters>
          <sor>1.3</sor>
        </solver>
      </ode>
    </physics>
  </world>
</sdf>

Industrial Compilers

URDF Compiler (`URDFCompiler.ts`, 2,009 lines)

Targets: ROS 2, Gazebo, MoveIt 2, RViz2, Isaac Sim

HoloScript Construct	URDF Output
`object`	`<link>` with visual + collision geometry
`@physics { mass: N }`	`<inertial>` with mass + inertia tensor
`behavior "RevoluteJoint"`	`<joint type="revolute">` with limits
`@sensor`	`<gazebo>` sensor plugin (camera, IMU, lidar)
`@actuator`	`<transmission>` with `ros2_control`

DTDL Compiler (`DTDLCompiler.ts`)

Target: Azure Digital Twins Definition Language v3

HoloScript Construct	DTDL Output
`state { field: value }`	DTDL Property
`emit("event")`	DTDL Telemetry
Action handlers	DTDL Command
Object hierarchy	DTDL Relationship
Traits	DTDL Component

SDF Compiler (`SDFCompiler.ts`)

Target: Gazebo Ignition / Garden simulation

Produces full world files with physics config, ground plane, lighting, sensors, and model hierarchy.

IoT Trait Library (253+ traits)

Consumer IoT (`iot-autonomous-agents.ts`)

@sensor  @digital_twin  @twin_sync  @twin_actuator  @data_binding
@alert   @heatmap_3d    @telemetry  @iot_bridge     @matter_device
@bluetooth_device  @usb_device  @octoprint_device  @home_assistant
@device_registry   @smart_light @smart_plug  @smart_speaker
@smart_display     @smart_lock  @climate_control

Industrial Protocols

@mqtt  @opc_ua  @modbus  @profinet  @ethercat  @canopen  @rest_api
@ros_compatible  @ros2_dds

Robotics (`robotics-industrial.ts`, 213 traits)

Joint types: @joint_revolute, @joint_prismatic, @joint_continuous, @joint_fixed, @joint_planar, @joint_floating, @joint_ball

Sensors: @force_sensor, @torque_sensor, @camera_rgb, @camera_depth, @lidar_2d, @lidar_3d, @imu, @gps, @ultrasonic

Actuators: @servo_motor, @stepper_motor, @bldc_motor, @hydraulic_actuator, @pneumatic_actuator

End effectors: @gripper, @parallel_gripper, @suction_gripper, @soft_gripper, @welding_torch, @spray_gun

Trait Implementations

Trait	File	Description
`@mqtt` (sink)	`core/src/traits/MQTTSinkTrait.ts`	Publish state to MQTT topics
`@mqtt` (source)	`core/src/traits/MQTTSourceTrait.ts`	Subscribe to MQTT topics
`@wot`	`core/src/traits/WoTThingTrait.ts`	W3C Web of Things integration

Non-Spatial Use Cases

These examples demonstrate that HoloScript is a backend scripting platform, not just a VR previewer:

Use Case	What It Does	Key Traits	Deploy To
Smart home dashboard	12 devices, MQTT telemetry, energy tracking	`@sensor`, `@actuator`, `@telemetry_stream`	R3F (tablet), Unity
Factory digital twin	48 devices, predictive maintenance, Azure sync	`@digital_twin`, `@sensor`	DTDL, Azure IoT
Smart building BIM	42 sensors, HVAC, occupancy, energy heatmaps	`@sensor`, `@bim_model`, `@heatmap`	R3F, Unity, WebGPU
Robot arm sim	6-DOF arm, ROS 2 bridge, physics	`@physics`, `@rotatable`	URDF, SDF, Gazebo
Industrial safety	Vibration monitoring, autonomous agent response	`@digital_twin`, `@llm_agent`	DTDL
Assembly line QC	Vision inspection, product tracking	`@sensor`, `@digital_twin`	DTDL, URDF
Sim-to-real transfer	Train robot in sim, deploy to hardware	`@digital_twin`, `@agent_portal`	URDF, SDF, Unity

The Key Insight

A single .holo file describes a system. The compiler target determines whether it becomes:

A web dashboard (R3F) for monitoring
A VR walkthrough (Unity/OpenXR) for training
A robot description (URDF) for ROS 2 deployment
A digital twin model (DTDL) for Azure cloud sync
A physics simulation (SDF) for Gazebo testing

No code rewrite needed. Same source, different compiler target.

Running the Examples

bash

# Smart home → web dashboard
holoscript compile examples/domain-starters/iot/iot-starter.holo --target r3f

# Factory → Azure Digital Twins
holoscript compile examples/specialized/iot/smart-factory-twin.holo --target dtdl

# Robot → ROS 2 URDF
holoscript compile examples/specialized/robotics/robot-arm-simulation.holo --target urdf

# Robot → Gazebo SDF
holoscript compile benchmarks/cross-compilation/compositions/15-robotics.holo --target sdf

# Same robot → Unity (for visualization)
holoscript compile benchmarks/cross-compilation/compositions/15-robotics.holo --target unity

HoloScript Beyond VR — IoT, Digital Twins & Robotics ​

Existing Examples ​

Example 1: Smart Home IoT Dashboard ​

Example 2: Smart Factory Digital Twin ​

Example 3: Robot Arm with ROS 2 ​

Real URDF Output (from benchmark run) ​

Real SDF Output (from benchmark run) ​

Industrial Compilers ​

URDF Compiler (URDFCompiler.ts, 2,009 lines) ​

DTDL Compiler (DTDLCompiler.ts) ​

SDF Compiler (SDFCompiler.ts) ​

IoT Trait Library (253+ traits) ​

Consumer IoT (iot-autonomous-agents.ts) ​

Industrial Protocols ​

Robotics (robotics-industrial.ts, 213 traits) ​

Trait Implementations ​

Non-Spatial Use Cases ​

The Key Insight ​

Running the Examples ​

HoloScript Beyond VR — IoT, Digital Twins & Robotics

Existing Examples

Example 1: Smart Home IoT Dashboard

Example 2: Smart Factory Digital Twin

Example 3: Robot Arm with ROS 2

Real URDF Output (from benchmark run)

Real SDF Output (from benchmark run)

Industrial Compilers

URDF Compiler (`URDFCompiler.ts`, 2,009 lines)

DTDL Compiler (`DTDLCompiler.ts`)

SDF Compiler (`SDFCompiler.ts`)

IoT Trait Library (253+ traits)

Consumer IoT (`iot-autonomous-agents.ts`)

Industrial Protocols

Robotics (`robotics-industrial.ts`, 213 traits)

Trait Implementations

Non-Spatial Use Cases

The Key Insight

Running the Examples