Splatviewer_VR

Splatviewer_VR is a VR-focused fork of the Unity Gaussian Splatting viewer. The repository keeps the reusable Unity package, a VR sample project, and a packaged Windows build for release workflows.

This fork is based on aras-p/UnityGaussianSplatting and adds a standalone VR viewer with runtime loading for Gaussian splat files.

What This Fork Adds

• A dedicated Unity project at projects/Splatviewer_VR.
• Runtime loading for splat files instead of requiring prebuilt Unity assets.
• VR locomotion and controller-driven navigation.
• File cycling and browser support for browsing splat files in-headset.
• A Windows release build under projects/Splatviewer_VR/Release/1.0.

Repository Layout

• package/: reusable Unity Gaussian Splatting package.
• projects/Splatviewer_VR/: Unity project for the VR viewer.
• docs/: upstream documentation for package integration and splat editing.

Viewer Features

• Runtime loading of .ply, .spz, and bundled PlayCanvas .sog splat files.
• Command-line file opening for .ply, .spz, and .sog shell associations.
• OpenXR-based VR support.
• Smooth locomotion and snap turn.
• Controller buttons for moving between splat files.
• Full desktop mode when running without a headset.
• Fullscreen windowed startup for desktop and VR mirror view.

Controls

VR

• Left stick: move.
• Right stick X: snap turn.
• Right stick Y: move up and down.
• Right controller B / secondaryButton: next splat.
• Right controller A / primaryButton: previous splat.

Desktop fallback

• W A S D: move.
• Mouse: look around.
• SPACE / C: move up / down.
• R / F: next / previous splat.
• Q / E: rotate the current splat.
• Home: reset splat rotation.
• End: flip the current splat.
• Esc: release mouse cursor.
• Left click: capture mouse cursor again.

Unity Project

Open projects/Splatviewer_VR in Unity. The project includes Assets/GSTestScene.unity, and Assets/Editor/BuildSetup.cs ensures that scene is present in the build settings.

Recommended environment:

• Unity 2022.3 LTS.
• Windows.
• D3D12-capable GPU.
• OpenXR-compatible headset runtime.

Runtime Splat Loading

This fork includes runtime loading changes for the Gaussian splat package and VR-side runtime scripts.

Highlights:

• GaussianSplatAsset supports runtime-provided byte buffers.
• GaussianSplatRenderer uses those runtime buffers when present.
• RuntimeSplatLoader reads binary little-endian PLY data at runtime.
• Splats are reordered and uploaded in a GPU-friendly layout.

The source tree does not include sample splat data. Add your own .ply, .spz, or bundled .sog files and point the viewer to the folder you want to browse.

If the viewer is launched with a .ply, .spz, or .sog file path on the command line, it will automatically load that file on startup. This is the basis for Windows Explorer file associations.

PlayCanvas .sog support targets bundled .sog archives with WebP-backed property images as described in the PlayCanvas format specification.

Windows File Association

You can register .ply, .spz, and .sog to open with the viewer by running:

• tools/Register-SplatviewerFileAssociations.cmd
• or tools/Register-SplatviewerFileAssociations.ps1

The helper writes per-user file associations under HKCU\Software\Classes, so administrator rights are not required.

If needed, pass a custom executable path to the PowerShell script:

• Register-SplatviewerFileAssociations.ps1 -ExecutablePath "C:\Path\To\SplatViewer_VR.exe"
• Register-SplatviewerFileAssociations.ps1 -Unregister

Building A Release

The packaged Windows player is built into projects/Splatviewer_VR/Release/1.0.

For GitHub releases, use the zip package generated from that folder instead of committing the raw build output. The repository ignores projects/**/Release/ so source control stays focused on source, project config, and documentation.

Release Files

• Release notes: RELEASE_NOTES.md
• Release package output: releases/Splatviewer_VR_v1.0_Windows_x64.zip

Upstream Credits

This work builds on the original Unity Gaussian Splatting implementation and the original 3D Gaussian Splatting research.

• Upstream package: aras-p/UnityGaussianSplatting
• Paper: 3D Gaussian Splatting for Real-Time Radiance Field Rendering

License

The repository retains the upstream MIT-licensed Unity integration code. Review the original Gaussian Splatting training software license separately if your splat assets were produced with tooling that has additional restrictions.