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

Esri has released ArcGIS Maps SDK for Unreal Engine 2.4.0, which adds a Gaussian splat layer type for georeferenced splat datasets. Gaussian splat layers render reality capture data as collections of radiance fields. For the geospatial industry gaussian splatting has already made a massive impact, rendering fine geometric detail, thin structures, vegetation, transparency and reflective surfaces. Initial support covers desktop platforms, and Esri states that mobile support is planned for a future release.

Esri introduced the geospatial splat layer in ArcGIS Pro 3.6, carried it to the browser with version 5.0 of the ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript, and brought it to Scene Viewer for on premises deployments in ArcGIS Enterprise 12.1.

A Gaussian splat layer in the Unreal SDK can reference a splat web layer published to ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise, addressed either by item page URL or by service REST endpoint. The layer can also read local 3D Tiles data, either a tileset.json or a packaged .3tz archive, for offline and bandwidth constrained work. Esri names ArcGIS Reality Studio, ArcGIS Reality for ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Drone2Map as the products that create the content.

The C++ API gains an ArcGISGaussianSplatLayer class and an ArcGISGaussianSplatLayer value on the ArcGISLayerType enum, along with new ArcGISColor and ArcGISDoubleCollection types. Two Blueprint nodes are added, Create ArcGIS Gaussian Splat Layer and Create ArcGIS Gaussian Splat Layer With Properties. The layer type also appears in the ArcGISMap component layer type dropdown and in the Layers tab of the Modes Panel UI.

Esri lists one known issue against the new layer. Under BUG-000186433, Gaussian splat layer opacity cannot be modified, splat layers always render opaque. The 2.4.0 notes also give no splat count ceiling and no GPU floor for the layer type.

Point Cloud Scene Layers gain rendering and filtering APIs in 2.4.0, driving point color from RGB, elevation, intensity, classification or return type, and Point Scene Layers gain billboarded picture and vector markers. The 3D Tiles layer picks up changes to tile prioritization, level of detail selection and culling, plus dynamic attribution that varies with the requested viewpoint. Unreal Engine 5.5 is no longer supported, and ArcGISTableTopPlayerController is deprecated in favor of ArcGISTableTopInputController, with removal scheduled for 2.5.

A utility inspecting a substation from drone capture can now place the splat reconstruction in the same Unreal scene as the parcel boundaries and network features it already streams from ArcGIS. It is available now.