[Submitted on 8 May 2025]
Authors:Peihao Wang, Yuehao Wang, Dilin Wang, Sreyas Mohan, Zhiwen Fan, Lemeng Wu, Ruisi Cai, Yu-Ying Yeh, Zhangyang Wang, Qiang Liu, Rakesh Ranjan
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Abstract:3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) has emerged as a powerful technique for real-time, high-resolution novel view synthesis. By representing scenes as a mixture of Gaussian primitives, 3DGS leverages GPU rasterization pipelines for efficient rendering and reconstruction. To optimize scene coverage and capture fine details, 3DGS employs a densification algorithm to generate additional points. However, this process often leads to redundant point clouds, resulting in excessive memory usage, slower performance, and substantial storage demands – posing significant challenges for deployment on resource-constrained devices. To address this limitation, we propose a theoretical framework that demystifies and improves density control in 3DGS. Our analysis reveals that splitting is crucial for escaping saddle points. Through an optimization-theoretic approach, we establish the necessary conditions for densification, determine the minimal number of offspring Gaussians, identify the optimal parameter update direction, and provide an analytical solution for normalizing off-spring opacity. Building on these insights, we introduce SteepGS, incorporating steepest density control, a principled strategy that minimizes loss while maintaining a compact point cloud. SteepGS achieves a ~50% reduction in Gaussian points without compromising rendering quality, significantly enhancing both efficiency and scalability.
Submission history From: Peihao Wang [view email]
[v1]
Thu, 8 May 2025 18:41:38 UTC (10,413 KB)
