Esri Adds Georeferenced Gaussian Splat Layers to the ArcGIS Maps SDK for Unity at 2.4

Esri has released ArcGIS Maps SDK for Unity 2.4.0, which adds a layer type for georeferenced Gaussian splat datasets.

The Unity SDK is a separate product line from the ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript, which brought splat layers to the web at 5.0, and from the Native Apps runtime, which added them to .NET and Qt desktop applications at 300.1. Version 2.4.0 is the first release of the Unity SDK to carry the layer.

The new ArcGISGaussianSplatLayer class is joined by an ArcGISGaussianSplatLayer value on the ArcGISLayerType enum, and the layer surfaces in the ArcGISMap component layer type drop down under the Layers section and in the Layers tab of the Map Creator UI. Esri describes the layer as rendering reality capture data through collections of volumetric primitives that preserve thin structures, vegetation, transparency and reflective surfaces, and the layer draws with existing ArcGIS layer types in the same scene. Initial support covers desktop platforms only, and Esri names mobile support as planned for a future release.

Two known issues ship with the layer. BUG-000186431 records that Unity 3D objects placed between the camera and a Gaussian splat layer, or inside the splat content itself, may not be visible, because splat layers currently occlude other scene content. BUG-000186432 records that splat layers always render opaque and that layer opacity cannot be adjusted. Esri lists no workaround for either.

The same release adds ArcGISPointCloudSplatAlgorithm, which renders point cloud points as splats at a fixed size in meters or screen space, and a renderer and filter API covering ArcGISPointCloudRenderer, ArcGISPointCloudRGBRenderer, ArcGISPointCloudClassBreaksRenderer, ArcGISPointCloudBitfieldFilter and ArcGISPointCloudReturnFilter. Point Scene Layers gain 2D billboarded picture and vector marker symbols, and 3D Tiles layers get improved tile prioritization, level of detail selection and culling, plus dynamic attribution and copyright.

Unity 6.4 is no longer supported, 2.4 is the last release to support Android 9, and the Unity editor on Intel x64 Macs is deprecated.

A GIS team already publishing splat layers to ArcGIS Online can now pull the same georeferenced capture into a Unity scene and place it against terrain and feature data in the editor. Learn more here.