Niantic is releasing a new version of its Scaniverse app to help users capture objects around them in greater detail. Scaniverse 4 allows users to capture places and objects in 3D using Gaussian partitioning technology. This technology captures more data points about objects, allowing for faster rendering and more accurate, richer representations.
The company acquired Scaniverse in 2021, and this is one of the app's major updates. Previously, Scaniverse allowed users to scan places and objects and save them to their device or share them with friends. These new ways to scan allow users to place these splats (object scans tied to location data) on a map, allowing others to discover them and experience new places with more precision and detail.
Over the past few years, Niantic has been trying to build a rich 3D map of the world by asking players of its games Wayfarer, Ingress and Pokémon Go to scan different locations to earn in-game rewards. The company has been using some of those scans to build Splats all over the world.
The new scanning process, only available on iOS at launch, is very simple. You can select the Splat On option in the new Capture menu and start scanning. Just like capturing a video, you'll need to move around the object and capture it from different angles. Once you're done, the app will process the scan and you'll be able to place the splat on the map, share the model, or share the video with others. Niantic says that scanning an object for 1-3 minutes will result in a high-quality scan.
Video credit: Niantic
Niantic said that for all scans it processes, it automatically blurs any faces or license plates that appear in the scan for privacy reasons, and that any moving objects in the frame during the scan are averaged out of the final render.
Brian McClendon, vice president of engineering at Niantic and co-inventor of Google Earth, told TechCrunch that the company used a rendering technique called triangle meshing in previous versions of Scaniverse, and the new Gaussian Splatting approach uses similar data to yield more detailed rendering with improved lighting and reflections.
“Gaussian splats have two big advantages over triangle meshes: they are faster to process, and they are much more realistic, capturing details like transparency in windows, reflections in water, and leaves on trees. It's like comparing a Lego model to a clay sculpt: Lego is blocky and hard, while clay allows for smooth curves and fine detail,” says McClendon.
The company already provides real-world location data through its Visual Positioning System (VPS), and the new scanning technology will provide even richer data to developers. The company hopes that Scaniverse users, primarily XR content creators and 3D photography enthusiasts, will help it build a new visual map.
Niantic already has 100,000 scans powered by Gaussian Splats and plans to scale this to millions in the near future, which the company plans to make available to developers for use cases such as gameplay and virtual reality experiences.
The company also plans to integrate this data to enhance its gaming experiences, allowing virtual characters to better interact with real-world objects.