# GausSim: Foreseeing Reality by Gaussian Simulator for Elastic Objects

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.17804 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.17804/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 31 of its 50 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 23 Dec 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 31)

- [3D Gaussian Splatting for Real-Time Radiance Field Rendering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.04079/) (2023)
- [SAM 2: Segment Anything in Images and Videos](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.00714/) (2024)
- [Stable Video Diffusion: Scaling Latent Video Diffusion Models to Large Datasets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.15127/) (2023)
- [Learning to Simulate Complex Physics with Graph Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.09405/) (2020)
- [Learning Mesh-Based Simulation with Graph Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.03409/) (2020)
- [PhysGaussian: Physics-Integrated 3D Gaussians for Generative Dynamics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.12198/) (2023)
- [Learning Particle Dynamics for Manipulating Rigid Bodies, Deformable Objects, and Fluids](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1810.01566/) (2018)
- [Text-To-4D Dynamic Scene Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.11280/) (2023)
- [DreamGaussian4D: Generative 4D Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.17142/) (2023)
- [PhysDreamer: Physics-Based Interaction with 3D Objects via Video Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.13026/) (2024)
- [4D-fy: Text-to-4D Generation Using Hybrid Score Distillation Sampling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.17984/) (2023)
- [VR-GS: A Physical Dynamics-Aware Interactive Gaussian Splatting System in Virtual Reality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.16663/) (2024)
- [Align Your Gaussians: Text-to-4D with Dynamic 3D Gaussians and Composed Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.13763/) (2023)
- [PAC-NeRF: Physics Augmented Continuum Neural Radiance Fields for Geometry-Agnostic System Identification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.05512/) (2023)
- [4DGen: Grounded 4D Content Generation with Spatial-temporal Consistency](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.17225/) (2023)
- [A Differentiable Physics Engine for Deep Learning in Robotics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.01652/) (2016)
- [Reconstruction and Simulation of Elastic Objects with Spring-Mass 3D Gaussians](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.09434/) (2024)
- [Physics3D: Learning Physical Properties of 3D Gaussians via Video Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.04338/) (2024)
- [TC4D: Trajectory-Conditioned Text-to-4D Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.17920/) (2024)
- [DiSECt: A Differentiable Simulation Engine for Autonomous Robotic Cutting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.12244/) (2021)
- [Learning Neural Constitutive Laws From Motion Observations for Generalizable PDE Dynamics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.14369/) (2023)
- [PIE-NeRF: Physics-based Interactive Elastodynamics with NeRF](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.13099/) (2023)
- [FluidLab: A Differentiable Environment for Benchmarking Complex Fluid Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.02346/) (2023)
- [Physically Compatible 3D Object Modeling from a Single Image](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.20510/) (2024)
- [Virtual Elastic Objects](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.04623/) (2022)
- [Neural Material Adaptor for Visual Grounding of Intrinsic Dynamics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.08257/) (2024)
- [GASP: Gaussian Splatting for Physic-Based Simulations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.05819/) (2024)
- [Make-It-4D: Synthesizing a Consistent Long-Term Dynamic Scene Video from a Single Image](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.10257/) (2023)
- [Towards Multi-Layered 3D Garments Animation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.10418/) (2023)
- [Transformer with Implicit Edges for Particle-based Physics Simulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.10860/) (2022)

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [From 2D to 3D Cognition: A Brief Survey of General World Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.20134/) (2025)
- [SoMA: A Real-to-Sim Neural Simulator for Robotic Soft-body Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.02402/) (2026)
- [Gaussian Swaying: Surface-Based Framework for Aerodynamic Simulation with 3D Gaussians](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.01306/) (2025)
- [Scene-Level Heterogeneous Physics Simulation with 3D Gaussian Splats](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.21753/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We introduce GausSim, a novel neural network-based simulator designed to capture the dynamic behaviors of real-world elastic objects represented through Gaussian kernels. We leverage continuum mechanics and treat each kernel as a Center of Mass System (CMS) that represents continuous piece of matter, accounting for realistic deformations without idealized assumptions. To improve computational efficiency and fidelity, we employ a hierarchical structure that further organizes kernels into CMSs with explicit formulations, enabling a coarse-to-fine simulation approach. This structure significantly reduces computational overhead while preserving detailed dynamics. In addition, GausSim incorporates explicit physics constraints, such as mass and momentum conservation, ensuring interpretable results and robust, physically plausible simulations. To validate our approach, we present a new dataset, READY, containing multi-view videos of real-world elastic deformations. Experimental results demonstrate that GausSim achieves superior performance compared to existing physics-driven baselines, offering a practical and accurate solution for simulating complex dynamic behaviors. Code and model are available at our project page: https://www.mmlab-ntu.com/project/gausim/index.html .