MeshSplats: Mesh-Based Rendering with Gaussian Splatting Initialization
This addresses a problem in 3D computer graphics for rendering applications, but it is incremental as it builds on existing GS and ray tracing methods.
The paper tackles the limitation of Gaussian Splatting (GS) in handling advanced lighting effects like shadows and reflections by introducing MeshSplats, which converts GS into a mesh format for ray tracing, resulting in a mesh of slightly reduced quality without extra training and enhanced reconstruction through optimization.
Gaussian Splatting (GS) is a recent and pivotal technique in 3D computer graphics. GS-based algorithms almost always bypass classical methods such as ray tracing, which offers numerous inherent advantages for rendering. For example, ray tracing is able to handle incoherent rays for advanced lighting effects, including shadows and reflections. To address this limitation, we introduce MeshSplats, a method which converts GS to a mesh-like format. Following the completion of training, MeshSplats transforms Gaussian elements into mesh faces, enabling rendering using ray tracing methods with all their associated benefits. Our model can be utilized immediately following transformation, yielding a mesh of slightly reduced quality without additional training. Furthermore, we can enhance the reconstruction quality through the application of a dedicated optimization algorithm that operates on mesh faces rather than Gaussian components. The efficacy of our method is substantiated by experimental results, underscoring its extensive applications in computer graphics and image processing.