# Material-informed Gaussian Splatting for 3D World Reconstruction in a Digital Twin

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.20348 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.20348/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 18 of its 35 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 25 Nov 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 18 of 18)

- [The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Deep Features as a Perceptual Metric](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.03924/) (2018)
- [3D Gaussian Splatting for Real-Time Radiance Field Rendering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.04079/) (2023)
- [Depth Anything V2](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.09414/) (2024)
- [2D Gaussian Splatting for Geometrically Accurate Radiance Fields](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.17888/) (2024)
- [Mip-Splatting: Alias-free 3D Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.16493/) (2023)
- [SuGaR: Surface-Aligned Gaussian Splatting for Efficient 3D Mesh Reconstruction and High-Quality Mesh Rendering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.12775/) (2023)
- [A Hierarchical 3D Gaussian Representation for Real-Time Rendering of Very Large Datasets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.12080/) (2024)
- [Segment Any 3D Gaussians](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.00860/) (2023)
- [LiDARsim: Realistic LiDAR Simulation by Leveraging the Real World](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.09348/) (2020)
- [Neural Kernel Surface Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.19590/) (2023)
- [3DGUT: Enabling Distorted Cameras and Secondary Rays in Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.12507/) (2024)
- [MatSynth: A Modern PBR Materials Dataset](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.06056/) (2024)
- [MILo: Mesh-In-the-Loop Gaussian Splatting for Detailed and Efficient Surface Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.24096/) (2025)
- [TexGaussian: Generating High-quality PBR Material via Octree-based 3D Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.19654/) (2024)
- [StreetSurfGS: Scalable Urban Street Surface Reconstruction with Planar-based Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.04354/) (2024)
- [Reflectivity Is All You Need!: Advancing LiDAR Semantic Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.13188/) (2024)
- [DHGS: Decoupled Hybrid Gaussian Splatting for Driving Scene](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.16600/) (2024)
- [Large Material Gaussian Model for Relightable 3D Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.22112/) (2025)

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

- [You Only Gaussian Once: Controllable 3D Gaussian Splatting for Ultra-Densely Sampled Scenes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.21400/) (2026)
- [KODAMA: Multimodal Digital Twin Reconstruction for Urban RF Propagation Modelling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.07298/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

3D reconstruction for Digital Twins often relies on LiDAR-based methods, which provide accurate geometry but lack the semantics and textures naturally captured by cameras. Traditional LiDAR-camera fusion approaches require complex calibration and still struggle with certain materials like glass, which are visible in images but poorly represented in point clouds. We propose a camera-only pipeline that reconstructs scenes using 3D Gaussian Splatting from multi-view images, extracts semantic material masks via vision models, converts Gaussian representations to mesh surfaces with projected material labels, and assigns physics-based material properties for accurate sensor simulation in modern graphics engines and simulators. This approach combines photorealistic reconstruction with physics-based material assignment, providing sensor simulation fidelity comparable to LiDAR-camera fusion while eliminating hardware complexity and calibration requirements. We validate our camera-only method using an internal dataset from an instrumented test vehicle, leveraging LiDAR as ground truth for reflectivity validation alongside image similarity metrics.