Recommended Tools
PlayCanvas does not itself provide a tool to convert photogrammetry into a Gaussian splat. But there is a healthy variety of third-party tools for you to choose from, each with their strengths and weaknesses.
Quick Comparison
| Tool | Difficulty | Platforms | Cost | Open Source | Primary Use | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polycam | Easy | iOS, Android, Web | Freemium | ❌ | Capture + Training | Mobile device |
| Luma AI | Easy | iOS, Android, Web | Freemium | ❌ | Capture + Training | Mobile device |
| COLMAP | Advanced | Win, Linux, macOS | Free | ✔️ | Camera Poses | |
| RealityScan | Medium | Win | Free* | ❌ | Camera Poses | CUDA GPU |
| Postshot | Medium | Win | Paid | ❌ | Camera Poses + Training | CUDA GPU |
| LichtFeld Studio | Medium | Win, Linux | Free source / Paid installer | ✔️ | Camera Poses + Training | CUDA GPU |
| Brush | Medium | Win, Linux, macOS, Android, Web | Free | ✔️ | Training | |
| nerfstudio | Advanced | Win, Linux, macOS | Free | ✔️ | Research/Training | |
| INRIA Tools | Advanced | Win, Linux | Free | ✔️ | Research/Reference | CUDA GPU |
*RealityScan is free for commercial use for individuals and companies with less than $1 million USD in annual gross revenue.
Easy/Consumer Tools
These tools are designed for users who want to create Gaussian splats quickly without technical expertise:
Polycam (iOS, Android, Web)
Commercial platform with user-friendly interface for creating Gaussian splats. Features include free tier with limitations, pro tiers for higher quality, support for up to 2000 images, built-in editing tools, and easy sharing and export.
Select splat PLY on export from Polycam.
Luma AI (iOS, Android, Web)
AI-powered cloud service with mobile app for easy capture. Offers mobile app for capture, cloud processing, high-quality results, video input support, and game engine integration.
Select Gaussian Splat on export from Luma and extract the PLY file from the downloaded ZIP file.
Medium/Pro Tools
These tools offer more control and customization than consumer capture apps while keeping setup manageable for professional workflows:
RealityScan (Windows)
Desktop application for camera alignment and sparse point cloud generation, which become the foundation for splat training in tools like Postshot. Requires a CUDA-enabled GPU.
Postshot (Windows)
Commercial desktop application for creating Gaussian splats with advanced features. Provides on-device processing, quick results, and a user-friendly interface. Requires a CUDA-enabled GPU.
LichtFeld Studio (Windows, Linux)
Open-source desktop application to train, edit, and render 3D Gaussian Splats. Includes an editing suite with transform, crop, and selection tools. Supports COLMAP-based datasets for training and can export PLY for interchange. Requires an NVIDIA GPU with CUDA 12.8+.
Brush (Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, Web)
Open source, cross-platform engine with broad device compatibility. Uses WebGPU-based rendering, offers real-time training visualization, has no CUDA dependency, supports browsers, and works on mobile devices. It expects existing camera poses from COLMAP or Nerfstudio-format datasets; it does not generate camera poses itself.
Advanced/Technical Tools
These tools are flexible low-level or research-oriented workflows for users comfortable with more complex setup and command-line tools:
COLMAP (Windows, Linux, macOS)
Open source Structure-from-Motion (SfM) pipeline for camera alignment and sparse point cloud generation. Provides cross-platform compatibility, high-quality reconstruction, command-line and GUI interfaces, and serves as the foundation for splat training in many workflows. Particularly valuable for users on non-Windows systems.
nerfstudio (Windows, Linux, macOS)
Open source research framework for training various splat models. Features command-line interface, multiple model types, highly customizable settings, research-oriented approach, and active development community.
INRIA Tools (Windows, Linux)
Original reference implementation from the 3D Gaussian Splatting paper. Has a dependency on COLMAP. Provides research-grade quality, CUDA acceleration, full parameter control, though requires complex setup and is best used for experimentation.
Outputting a PLY File
All of these tools can output trained Gaussian splat scenes in the PLY file format. The PLY format serves as the standard interchange format for 3D Gaussian Splats, making it possible to move your creations between different applications and workflows. To better understand what these tools are producing and how to work with the resulting files effectively, let's explore the PLY format in detail.