# i-PhysGaussian: Implicit Physical Simulation for 3D Gaussian Splatting

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.17117 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.17117/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 38 of its 57 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 19 Feb 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 38)

- [3D Gaussian Splatting for Real-Time Radiance Field Rendering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.04079/) (2023)
- [Instant Neural Graphics Primitives with a Multiresolution Hash Encoding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.05989/) (2022)
- [Plenoxels: Radiance Fields without Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.05131/) (2021)
- [Direct Voxel Grid Optimization: Super-fast Convergence for Radiance Fields Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.11215/) (2021)
- [PlenOctrees for Real-time Rendering of Neural Radiance Fields](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.14024/) (2021)
- [KiloNeRF: Speeding up Neural Radiance Fields with Thousands of Tiny MLPs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.13744/) (2021)
- [FastNeRF: High-Fidelity Neural Rendering at 200FPS](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.10380/) (2021)
- [PhysGaussian: Physics-Integrated 3D Gaussians for Generative Dynamics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.12198/) (2023)
- [GEN3C: 3D-Informed World-Consistent Video Generation with Precise Camera Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.03751/) (2025)
- [DiffTaichi: Differentiable Programming for Physical Simulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.00935/) (2019)
- [RoboGen: Towards Unleashing Infinite Data for Automated Robot Learning via Generative Simulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.01455/) (2023)
- [RoboDreamer: Learning Compositional World Models for Robot Imagination](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.12377/) (2024)
- [PhysDreamer: Physics-Based Interaction with 3D Objects via Video Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.13026/) (2024)
- [VR-GS: A Physical Dynamics-Aware Interactive Gaussian Splatting System in Virtual Reality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.16663/) (2024)
- [PAC-NeRF: Physics Augmented Continuum Neural Radiance Fields for Geometry-Agnostic System Identification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.05512/) (2023)
- [Voyager: Long-Range and World-Consistent Video Diffusion for Explorable 3D Scene Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.04225/) (2025)
- [ChainQueen: A Real-Time Differentiable Physical Simulator for Soft Robotics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1810.01054/) (2018)
- [Physics3D: Learning Physical Properties of 3D Gaussians via Video Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.04338/) (2024)
- [OmniPhysGS: 3D Constitutive Gaussians for General Physics-Based Dynamics Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.18982/) (2025)
- [Gen2Sim: Scaling up Robot Learning in Simulation with Generative Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.18308/) (2023)
- [4Real: Towards Photorealistic 4D Scene Generation via Video Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.07472/) (2024)
- [DreamScene4D: Dynamic Multi-Object Scene Generation from Monocular Videos](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.02280/) (2024)
- [GIC: Gaussian-Informed Continuum for Physical Property Identification and Simulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.14927/) (2024)
- [Harnessing Out-Of-Distribution Examples via Augmenting Content and Style](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.03162/) (2022)
- [DreamPhysics: Learning Physics-Based 3D Dynamics with Video Diffusion Priors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.01476/) (2024)
- [Learning to Look Around: Intelligently Exploring Unseen Environments for Unknown Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1709.00507/) (2017)
- [Gaussian Splashing: Unified Particles for Versatile Motion Synthesis and Rendering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.15318/) (2024)
- [Robust Generalization against Photon-Limited Corruptions via Worst-Case Sharpness Minimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.13087/) (2023)
- [FlatMatch: Bridging Labeled Data and Unlabeled Data with Cross-Sharpness for Semi-Supervised Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.16412/) (2023)
- [FreeGave: 3D Physics Learning from Dynamic Videos by Gaussian Velocity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.07865/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [PhysAgent: Automating Physics-Based 4D Synthesis via Trajectory-Grounded Multi-Agent Feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.08688/) (2026)
- [Geometry Gaussians: Decoupling Appearance and Geometry in Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.05124/) (2026)
- [KnockGS:interaction-Grounded Calibrationof Physical Gaussian Representations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.27365/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Physical simulation predicts future states of objects based on material properties and external loads, enabling blueprints for both Industry and Engineering to conduct risk management. Current 3D reconstruction-based simulators typically rely on explicit, step-wise updates, which are sensitive to step time and suffer from rapid accuracy degradation under complicated scenarios, such as high-stiffness materials or quasi-static movement. To address this, we introduce i-PhysGaussian, a framework that couples 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) with an implicit Material Point Method (MPM) integrator. Unlike explicit methods, our solution obtains an end-of-step state by minimizing a momentum-balance residual through implicit Newton-type optimization with a GMRES solver. This formulation significantly reduces time-step sensitivity and ensures physical consistency. Our results demonstrate that i-PhysGaussian maintains stability at up to 20x larger time steps than explicit baselines, preserving structural coherence and smooth motion even in complex dynamic transitions.