#1486: Going All-in with Gaussian Splats: Gracia’s Viewer, AI Training, & Photoreal Capture with VR Fund’s Tipatat Chennavasin
Oct 6, 2024
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Tipatat Chennavasin, General Partner and co-founder of Venture Reality Fund, dives into the excitement surrounding Gaussian Splatting and its investment in Gracia.ai. He shares insights from Meta Connect 2024, including the allure of photorealistic VR and the allure of AAA games like Batman Arkham Shadow. The conversation also touches on the balance between AAA and grassroots innovations in gaming, alongside the potential of XR spatial computing and generative AI to revolutionize immersive experiences.
Gaussian splats introduce a revolutionary method for rendering in XR, providing photorealistic visuals and high interactivity at lower costs.
Meta Connect 2024 showcased a shift towards community-driven gaming experiences, highlighting user-friendly innovations like the MetaQuest 3.
Deep dives
The Potential of Gaussian Splats
Gaussian splats represent a novel approach to rendering in virtual and augmented reality, characterized as the 'JPEG of immersive content.' This concept allows for high-quality object rendering through a point cloud of radiance fields, setting a new standard for photorealistic visual experiences. By using a method that is relatively inexpensive both to capture and produce, Gaussian splats enable a more immersive feeling in XR by rendering objects in six degrees of freedom. This innovative approach overcomes previous limitations in content creation that relied heavily on complex environmental scenes and cloud rendering.
Advantages Over Traditional Methods
Gaussian splats offer distinct advantages compared to conventional techniques like photogrammetry and volumetric video, primarily in their ability to capture view-dependent lighting and surface translucency. Unlike static meshes that often lack photorealistic fidelity, Gaussian splats provide a more interactive experience by displaying accurate reflections and lighting based on the viewer's angle. Their efficiency allows for smoother playback on standard devices, making them practical for XR applications. Furthermore, this technology opens up new possibilities for content generation across various fields such as fashion, beauty, and tourism, which previously struggled to achieve lifelike representations.
Implications for Artificial Intelligence
The development of Gaussian splats is seen as a critical component for enhancing generative AI capabilities, particularly in creating photorealistic scenes. By generating high-quality 3D datasets, Gaussian splats can effectively train large language models for advanced applications in XR. This convergence of technologies could significantly reduce the cost and time needed to produce complex 3D environments, ultimately bringing us closer to achieving the 'holodeck' concept. Such synergistic advancements might enable richer narrative experiences and more interactive environments that blur the lines between reality and digital imagination.
Current Trends and Future Insights
At MetaConnect 2024, various innovative developments emerged, particularly around the MetaQuest 3 and its contributions to the XR landscape. The excitement surrounding user-friendly gaming experiences and advancements in AR technology reflects a growing acknowledgment of grassroots trends in the gaming community. Projects like 'Guerrilla Tag' demonstrate a shift towards more engaging, community-driven gameplay, contrasting the traditional focus on AAA titles. As the industry evolves, it is poised to explore new avenues for mixed reality engagement, merging social interaction with intricate narrative depth in VR settings.
I interviewed Tipatat Chennavasin, General Partner and co-founder of Venture Reality Fund, at Meta Connect 2024 about why he has gone all-in with Gaussian Splatting by investing in the Gracia.ai and their viewer that's on the Quest store. We also talk about some of the news from Meta Connect, Quest 3S excitement, the merits of AAA games like Batman Arkham Shadow to bring more people into VR, and other some experiences and demos that caught his attention at Meta Connect 2024. See more context in the rough transcript below.
This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon.
Music: Fatality
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