What is 3D Gaussian Splatting?At its core, 3D Gaussian Splatting is a technique for creating and rendering 3D scenes using millions of tiny, translucent ellipsoids known as "Gaussian splats." Unlike traditional methods that rely on polygons or complex neural networks, 3DGS uses these splats to represent a scene. Each splat carries information about its position, color, size, and transparency. When viewed together, they blend seamlessly to replicate the original subject with striking fidelity.How does 3DGS work?3D Gaussian Splatting creates an accurate representation of scenes captured from multiple photos taken at various angles, a method widely used in computer graphics. Through a training process involving optimization algorithms and differentiable rasterization, these images are transformed into detailed 3D models ready for rendering.The process step by stepThe process begins much like photogrammetryyou capture a subject from multiple angles using photos or video frames. These images are then analyzed to determine camera positions and create a preliminary 3D point cloud of the scene, a method known as Structure from Motion (SfM).Each point in this cloud is converted into a Gaussian splat, which isn't just a point but an ellipsoid with specific properties:Position: Determines where the splat is located in 3D space.Shape and Size: Dictates how the splat stretches or scales, allowing it to represent fine details.Color: Stores the splat's color information. The colors are view-dependent and may change depending on the direction that the splat is viewed from.Transparency: Defines how transparent the splat is, crucial for blending multiple splats together.These splats then undergo an optimization process to refine their parameters. This involves:Differentiable Rasterization: Projecting the 3D Gaussian splats onto a 2D image plane to simulate how a camera would see them.Loss Function: Measuring the difference between the rendered image of splats and the original input images.Optimization Algorithms: Adjusting the splats to minimize this difference.Adaptive Density Control: Removing unnecessary splats or adding more where needed for detail.The result is a 3D representation that closely matches the original subject, ready for rendering.Why is 3D Gaussian Splatting a game-changer?What makes 3DGS revolutionary is its unique combination of realism, efficiency and speed, positioning it as an exciting advancement in computer graphics.Realism3DGS excels at capturing fine details and complex lighting effects like reflections and refractions. This leads to highly photorealistic results that were previously hard to achieve in real-time rendering.EfficiencyThe Gaussian splat representation is more compact than dense polygon meshes or data-heavy neural networks. This means less storage and computational power are needed.SpeedBecause of its efficient data representation and optimized rendering pipeline, 3DGS can achieve real-time or near real-time rendering speeds, making it suitable for interactive applications.ScalabilityIt's capable of handling complex scenes with millions of splats, efficiently representing large-scale environments without a significant performance hit.Rendering 3D Gaussian splats3DGS can achieve very fast rendering speeds, but this comes at the expense of limitations in realism and flexibility. Integrating Gaussian splats into V-Ray's ray tracing engine overcomes these challenges, allowing for accurate representations of the captured scenes and creative control.3D Gaussian Splatting, rasterization, and ray tracingWhile the Gaussian Splats are relying on the process of rasterization to make them render really fast, this comes at the expense of many limitations.Fortunately, one of the exciting developments in 3D Gaussian Splatting is its integration inside of V-Ray, which breaks through these barriers with its powerful ray tracing capabilities.