mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

From Volume Rendering to 3D Gaussian Splatting: Theory and Applications

arXiv 2510.18101 ↗First posted 20 Oct 2025cs.CVcited by 1

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Abstract (arXiv)

The problem of 3D reconstruction from posed images is undergoing a fundamental transformation, driven by continuous advances in 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS). By modeling scenes explicitly as collections of 3D Gaussians, 3DGS enables efficient rasterization through volumetric splatting, offering thus a seamless integration with common graphics pipelines. Despite its real-time rendering capabilities for novel view synthesis, 3DGS suffers from a high memory footprint, the tendency to bake lighting effects directly into its representation, and limited support for secondary-ray effects. This tutorial provides a concise yet comprehensive overview of the 3DGS pipeline, starting from its splatting formulation and then exploring the main efforts in addressing its limitations. Finally, we survey a range of applications that leverage 3DGS for surface reconstruction, avatar modeling, animation, and content generation-highlighting its efficient rendering and suitability for feed-forward pipelines.

Key facts. Cited by 1 paper in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Builds on 61 of its 70 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 20 Oct 2025.

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61 of 70 references.

References · 61

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38 more
  1. 2024MVSplat: Efficient 3D Gaussian Splatting from Sparse Multi-View Imagescited by 553
  2. 2023LightGaussian: Unbounded 3D Gaussian Compression with 15x Reduction and 200+ FPScited by 420
  3. 2023PhysGaussian: Physics-Integrated 3D Gaussians for Generative Dynamicscited by 368
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  7. 2023GaussianAvatars: Photorealistic Head Avatars with Rigged 3D Gaussianscited by 256
  8. 2023GaussianShader: 3D Gaussian Splatting with Shading Functions for Reflective Surfacescited by 249
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  10. 2024No Pose, No Problem: Surprisingly Simple 3D Gaussian Splats from Sparse Unposed Imagescited by 241
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  12. 2024A Survey on 3D Gaussian Splattingcited by 221
  13. 20243D Gaussian Splatting as Markov Chain Monte Carlocited by 210
  14. 20233DGS-Avatar: Animatable Avatars via Deformable 3D Gaussian Splattingcited by 195
  15. 2023GaussianAvatar: Towards Realistic Human Avatar Modeling from a Single Video via Animatable 3D Gaussianscited by 190
  16. 2024CAT4D: Create Anything in 4D with Multi-View Video Diffusion Modelscited by 160
  17. 2022NeRF: Neural Radiance Field in 3D Vision: A Comprehensive Review (Updated Post-Gaussian Splatting)cited by 156
  18. 2024WildGaussians: 3D Gaussian Splatting in the Wildcited by 150
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  20. 2023Relightable 3D Gaussians: Realistic Point Cloud Relighting with BRDF Decomposition and Ray Tracingcited by 138
  21. 20243D Gaussian Ray Tracing: Fast Tracing of Particle Scenescited by 138
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  24. 2024CoR-GS: Sparse-View 3D Gaussian Splatting via Co-Regularizationcited by 120
  25. 2024Gaussian in the Wild: 3D Gaussian Splatting for Unconstrained Image Collectionscited by 117
  26. 2024Flash3D: Feed-Forward Generalisable 3D Scene Reconstruction from a Single Imagecited by 113
  27. 2024RadSplat: Radiance Field-Informed Gaussian Splatting for Robust Real-Time Rendering with 900+ FPScited by 110
  28. 2024StopThePop: Sorted Gaussian Splatting for View-Consistent Real-time Renderingcited by 107
  29. 20243DGUT: Enabling Distorted Cameras and Secondary Rays in Gaussian Splattingcited by 87
  30. 2024GSDF: 3DGS Meets SDF for Improved Rendering and Reconstructioncited by 81
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  34. 2024SpotlessSplats: Ignoring Distractors in 3D Gaussian Splattingcited by 61
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  37. 2024IRGS: Inter-Reflective Gaussian Splatting with 2D Gaussian Ray Tracingcited by 53
  38. 2024Neural Signed Distance Function Inference through Splatting 3D Gaussians Pulled on Zero-Level Setcited by 47

50 most cited of 61 All 61 (JSON)

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Citing papers per year: 2026: 1.

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