Three.js r186 ships native 3D Gaussian Splatting: turn a 30-second phone scan into a viewable 3D model
nptacek · x · 2026-09-18
Three.js r186 (released September 8, 2026) now supports 3D Gaussian Splatting natively, and ICS MEDIA published a hands-on tutorial covering the full pipeline from phone capture to in-browser rendering.
Key points:
- 3DGS reconstructs 3D from semi-transparent particles (position, scale, orientation, color, opacity) instead of triangle meshes; a quick phone scan yields freely viewable 3D data. It excels at fuzzy outlines like hair and foliage plus glossy surfaces (minus mirror reflections).
- New GaussianSplat class plus loaders for .spz, .ply, .splat and .ksplat return BufferGeometry, so splats can be added to a scene like ordinary objects in a few lines of code.
- The implementation targets WebGPU only (WebGPURenderer required); the official webgpugaussiansplat sample runs in the browser.
- The tutorial uses Niantic's free Scaniverse Classic app for capture and .spz export, with practical tips like orbiting the subject 2-3 times at varying heights, plus a fun magic-circle summoning demo.
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