As digital spaces are becoming able to match the fidelity of physical locations, WHERENESS is emerging with a mission to bring art and experience to everyone, regardless of their location. WHERENESS is a spatial sharing cloud, designed to give users the ability to effortlessly upload, organize, and share both 360º content and 3D Gaussian splatting files.
WHERENESS didn’t appear overnight— it grew out of a deep rooted commitment to preserving and sharing artistic spaces. The platform's origins trace back to ART360°, an exhibition archiving project developed by the Nishieda Foundation. ART360° was created to ensure that exhibitions could live beyond their physical constraints, allowing audiences to revisit and engage with them digitally.
That same spirit of preservation and accessibility is at the heart of WHERENESS. By expanding beyond the realm of art and into broader applications, WHERENESS provides a space where art, architecture, digital twins, and interactive storytelling can thrive. The transition from ART360° to WHERENESS marks a shift from simple archiving to dynamic spatial sharing, opening up new possibilities for creators and organizations alike.
Longtime readers of this site might remember when we went through how Radiance Field representations can bring so much to the museum and cultural heritage experience. Museums often only show ~4% of their collection at a time to the public. While we might be constrained physically, we have the ability to bring these exhibits and pieces into lifelike digital environments, so that we can all enjoy the past work of our ancestors.
Check out their reconstruction of Van Gogh's Sunflowers, an example of how the platform seamlessly brings digital spaces to life: Explore Here. For a more in depth look at its capabilities, watch the teaser video, 3DGS - The Thinker:
WHERENESS is designed to make spatial content management effortless and engaging. Users can upload and organize 360º content and 3D Gaussian splatting files, creating structured digital catalogs that house multiple projects in a single, streamlined interface. Sharing is just as intuitive, with the ability to generate direct URLs that allow anyone to access immersive environments instantly. Businesses that need extra security can also protect their projects with password restrictions.
WHERENESS also delivers a high-quality visual experience, supporting high-resolution 3D Gaussian Splatting, across different splat counts for strikingly detailed environments. To keep everything running smoothly, the platform integrates with most of the standard 3DGS outputs, ranging from .ply, .splat, .ksplat, and Niantic’s .SPZ format.
For those looking to leverage spatial engagement, WHERENESS allows for interactive storytelling by embedding annotations, and links directly into digital spaces. A planned update will introduce hotspots for 3D Gaussian splatting files, further enhancing interactive possibilities. This is one of my favorite uses of lifelike 3D and I am so excited to see another platform bringing in these capabilities.
By bridging the gap between archival integrity and modern digital interaction, WHERENESS is allowing more information and experiences to translate over to educational experiences. WHERENESS provides the tools to go beyond static documentation and bring digital spaces to life. It is currently free to use and people can get started with their platform, through their website.
