Gaussian Splatting: online and local

Gaussian splatting offers an interesting alternative to photogrammetry for specific use cases, particularly where real-time rendering, photorealistic results, and the ability to capture reflective and transparent surfaces are necessary. There are lots of online options for Gaussian splatting, both paid and unpaid. Kiri Engine seems to be a very complete suite and now has the option to make meshes out of splats, for use in for instance Blender in the paid version.

For all online platforms (paid or unpaid), please be aware of your data and privacy! 

Running Gaussian Splatting locally

If you don't want to be reliant on external systems, you can make Gaussian splats (and photogrammetry) locally with a somewhat beefy computer. There are multiple tools available for this, but here we chose Postshot (Gaussian splatting) and RealityCapture (photogrammetry) for a quick comparison. 

Workflow in Postshot:

There are plugins for

Below: the same chair model in Postshot and Blender

Screenshot (2).png

Postshot

Screenshot (3).png

same model in Blender

Compared to local photogrammetry (RealityCapture)

We've used the same source video for a render in RealityCapture. This render took about three minutes and shows one of the problems with photogrammetry: shiny objects become invisible. You can fix this by using a polarizing filter over your lens.

Screenshot (5).png

In RealityCapture

Screenshot (6).png

.obj imported in Blender

Screenshot (7).png

Render with lighting in Blender

Thoughts on using Gaussian Splatting

As long as Gaussian splatting does not easily convert to meshes, it's use in live 3d engines might be limited. Models can be quite heavy (the chair above is 130MB as a splat, vs 20MB as a .obj) and can't be reduced easily. 

It might be more applicable to pre-rendered applications, where you have can re-edit the camera from the original recording. Change angles, change camera movement, etc.

Various tutorials on Gaussian Splatting

importing .ply gaussian splat in Blender


Revision #28
Created 15 April 2025 09:04:42 by Daan
Updated 12 June 2025 12:18:15 by mikal