# Towards Real-Time Gaussian Splatting: Accelerating 3DGS through Photometric SLAM

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.03825 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.03825/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 7 of its 8 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 7 Aug 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [3D Gaussian Splatting for Real-Time Radiance Field Rendering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.04079/) (2023)
- [DUSt3R: Geometric 3D Vision Made Easy](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.14132/) (2023)
- [The Replica Dataset: A Digital Replica of Indoor Spaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.05797/) (2019)
- [ORB-SLAM3: An Accurate Open-Source Library for Visual, Visual-Inertial and Multi-Map SLAM](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.11898/) (2020)
- [Direct Sparse Odometry](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1607.02565/) (2016)
- [SplaTAM: Splat, Track & Map 3D Gaussians for Dense RGB-D SLAM](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.02126/) (2023)
- [InstantSplat: Sparse-view Gaussian Splatting in Seconds](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.20309/) (2024)

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [MGSO: Monocular Real-time Photometric SLAM with Efficient 3D Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.13055/) (2024)
- [Optimizing 3D Gaussian Splatting via Point Cloud Upsampling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.00450/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Initial applications of 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) in Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (VSLAM) demonstrate the generation of high-quality volumetric reconstructions from monocular video streams. However, despite these promising advancements, current 3DGS integrations have reduced tracking performance and lower operating speeds compared to traditional VSLAM. To address these issues, we propose integrating 3DGS with Direct Sparse Odometry, a monocular photometric SLAM system. We have done preliminary experiments showing that using Direct Sparse Odometry point cloud outputs, as opposed to standard structure-from-motion methods, significantly shortens the training time needed to achieve high-quality renders. Reducing 3DGS training time enables the development of 3DGS-integrated SLAM systems that operate in real-time on mobile hardware. These promising initial findings suggest further exploration is warranted in combining traditional VSLAM systems with 3DGS.