What formats can be used for Gaussian splats in ArcGIS Pro?

Answer

Support for Gaussian splat layers was introduced in ArcGIS Pro 3.6, allowing users to visualize highly realistic 3D imagery using a splat-based rendering method instead of traditional meshes or point clouds. A splat-based rendering method is a way of displaying 3D data using thousands or millions of small, soft “blobs” (called splats) instead of triangles (meshes) or grid cells (voxels).

The following common formats cannot be used directly as Gaussian splat layers.

OBJ and FBX layers may be viewed in ArcGIS Pro but they display as textured mesh models, not Gaussian splats. Gaussian splats are generated from imagery, not from existing 3D mesh. ArcGIS Pro cannot convert an existing OBJ into Gaussian splats. For more information about generating Gaussian splats, refer to 3D Workflows: Create gaussian splat from reality capture.

To quickly check if a dataset is usable for Gaussian splats, open the export folder and look for a top-level file named tileset.json. If this file does not exist, the dataset is not usable as a splat layer in ArcGIS Pro.