# When 3D Gaussian Splatting Recovers Real Surfaces

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.30054 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.30054/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 29 of its 48 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 30 Aug 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 29 of 29)

- [3D Gaussian Splatting for Real-Time Radiance Field Rendering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.04079/) (2023)
- [ScanNet: Richly-annotated 3D Reconstructions of Indoor Scenes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1702.04405/) (2017)
- [Matterport3D: Learning from RGB-D Data in Indoor Environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1709.06158/) (2017)
- [2D Gaussian Splatting for Geometrically Accurate Radiance Fields](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.17888/) (2024)
- [NeRF++: Analyzing and Improving Neural Radiance Fields](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.07492/) (2020)
- [PoseCNN: A Convolutional Neural Network for 6D Object Pose Estimation in Cluttered Scenes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1711.00199/) (2017)
- [ScanNet++: A High-Fidelity Dataset of 3D Indoor Scenes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.11417/) (2023)
- [SuGaR: Surface-Aligned Gaussian Splatting for Efficient 3D Mesh Reconstruction and High-Quality Mesh Rendering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.12775/) (2023)
- [Habitat-Matterport 3D Dataset (HM3D): 1000 Large-scale 3D Environments for Embodied AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.08238/) (2021)
- [Ref-NeRF: Structured View-Dependent Appearance for Neural Radiance Fields](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.03907/) (2021)
- [PhysGaussian: Physics-Integrated 3D Gaussians for Generative Dynamics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.12198/) (2023)
- [PGSR: Planar-based Gaussian Splatting for Efficient and High-Fidelity Surface Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.06521/) (2024)
- [T-LESS: An RGB-D Dataset for 6D Pose Estimation of Texture-less Objects](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1701.05498/) (2017)
- [VR-GS: A Physical Dynamics-Aware Interactive Gaussian Splatting System in Virtual Reality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.16663/) (2024)
- [High-quality Surface Reconstruction using Gaussian Surfels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.17774/) (2024)
- [Recent Advances in 3D Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.11134/) (2024)
- [3DGSR: Implicit Surface Reconstruction with 3D Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.00409/) (2024)
- [3D Gaussian Splatting: Survey, Technologies, Challenges, and Opportunities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.17418/) (2024)
- [GS2Mesh: Surface Reconstruction from Gaussian Splatting via Novel Stereo Views](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.01810/) (2024)
- [Gaussian Splashing: Unified Particles for Versatile Motion Synthesis and Rendering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.15318/) (2024)
- [Gaussian Garments: Reconstructing Simulation-Ready Clothing with Photorealistic Appearance from Multi-View Video](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.08189/) (2024)
- [GausSurf: Geometry-Guided 3D Gaussian Splatting for Surface Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.19454/) (2024)
- [MobileBrick: Building LEGO for 3D Reconstruction on Mobile Devices](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.01932/) (2023)
- [SolidGS: Consolidating Gaussian Surfel Splatting for Sparse-View Surface Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.15400/) (2024)
- [PGC: Physics-Based Gaussian Cloth from a Single Pose](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.20779/) (2025)
- [MaGS: Reconstructing and Simulating Dynamic 3D Objects with Mesh-adsorbed Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.01593/) (2024)
- [Gaussian-Augmented Physics Simulation and System Identification with Complex Colliders](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.06846/) (2025)
- [OMEGAS: Object Mesh Extraction from Large Scenes Guided by Gaussian Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.15891/) (2024)
- [Reducing Shape-Radiance Ambiguity in Radiance Fields with a Closed-Form Color Estimation Method](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.12726/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [What Builds the Scene? Luminance Dominates Geometry Formation in 3D Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.00749/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

When does 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) recover the true scene surface rather than just overfitting view-dependent appearance? We answer this by developing a mathematical framework based on a first-hit rendering abstraction that cleanly isolates geometry from appearance. We prove that geometric misalignment forcefully converts spatial textures into high-frequency angular signals via parallax. This establishes a strict identifiability window: if angular capacity is bounded, surface-consistent solutions are mathematically preferred; if unrestricted, the same images can be perfectly explained by an incorrect, opaque billboard geometry. Experiments on synthetic stress tests confirm this prediction, showing billboard failures emerge precisely at high angular capacities. Conversely, in the real-world datasets we evaluate under standard capture protocols, reconstructions remain surface-consistent even at high SH degrees, which is consistent with the prediction that rich spatial texture can push billboard solutions outside the tested angular-capacity range.