# Benchmarking Neural Radiance Fields for Autonomous Robots: An Overview

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.05526 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.05526/

## Key facts

- Cited by 14 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 9 May 2024.

## Built on by (most cited first, 14 of 14)

- [SplatLoc: 3D Gaussian Splatting-based Visual Localization for Augmented Reality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.14067/) (2024)
- [What Is The Best 3D Scene Representation for Robotics? From Geometric to Foundation Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.03422/) (2025)
- [PanoGS: Gaussian-based Panoptic Segmentation for 3D Open Vocabulary Scene Understanding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.18107/) (2025)
- [Geometric Algebra Planes: Convex Implicit Neural Volumes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.13525/) (2024)
- [NeuraLoc: Visual Localization in Neural Implicit Map with Dual Complementary Features](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.06117/) (2025)
- [Advances in Radiance Field for Dynamic Scene: From Neural Field to Gaussian Field](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.10049/) (2025)
- [Continuous Representation Methods, Theories, and Applications: An Overview and Perspectives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.15222/) (2025)
- [SceneFactory: A Workflow-centric and Unified Framework for Incremental Scene Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.07847/) (2024)
- [Visual SLAM with 3D Gaussian Primitives and Depth Priors Enabling Novel View Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.05635/) (2024)
- [Editing Implicit and Explicit Representations of Radiance Fields: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.17628/) (2024)
- [UAVLight: A Benchmark for Illumination-Robust 3D Reconstruction in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Scenes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.21565/) (2025)
- [PS4PRO: Pixel-to-pixel Supervision for Photorealistic Rendering and Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.22616/) (2025)
- [CUS-GS: A Compact Unified Structured Gaussian Splatting Framework for Multimodal Scene Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.17904/) (2025)
- [Instant Colorization of Gaussian Splats](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.17155/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) have emerged as a powerful paradigm for 3D scene representation, offering high-fidelity renderings and reconstructions from a set of sparse and unstructured sensor data. In the context of autonomous robotics, where perception and understanding of the environment are pivotal, NeRF holds immense promise for improving performance. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey and analysis of the state-of-the-art techniques for utilizing NeRF to enhance the capabilities of autonomous robots. We especially focus on the perception, localization and navigation, and decision-making modules of autonomous robots and delve into tasks crucial for autonomous operation, including 3D reconstruction, segmentation, pose estimation, simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), navigation and planning, and interaction. Our survey meticulously benchmarks existing NeRF-based methods, providing insights into their strengths and limitations. Moreover, we explore promising avenues for future research and development in this domain. Notably, we discuss the integration of advanced techniques such as 3D Gaussian splatting (3DGS), large language models (LLM), and generative AIs, envisioning enhanced reconstruction efficiency, scene understanding, decision-making capabilities. This survey serves as a roadmap for researchers seeking to leverage NeRFs to empower autonomous robots, paving the way for innovative solutions that can navigate and interact seamlessly in complex environments.