VRSplat: Fast and Robust Gaussian Splatting for Virtual Reality

Abstract

3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) has rapidly become a leading technique for novel-view synthesis, providing exceptional performance through efficient software-based GPU rasterization. Its versatility enables real-time applications, including on mobile and lower-powered devices. However, 3DGS faces key challenges in virtual reality (VR): (1) temporal artifacts, such as popping during head movements, (2) projection-based distortions that result in disturbing and view-inconsistent floaters, and (3) reduced framerates when rendering large numbers of Gaussians, falling below the critical threshold for VR. Compared to desktop environments, these issues are drastically amplified by large field-of-view, constant head movements, and high resolution of head-mounted displays (HMDs). In this work, we introduce VRSplat: we combine and extend several recent advancements in 3DGS to address challenges of VR holistically. We show how the ideas of Mini-Splatting, StopThePop, and Optimal Projection can complement each other, by modifying the individual techniques and core 3DGS rasterizer. Additionally, we propose an efficient foveated rasterizer that handles focus and peripheral areas in a single GPU launch, avoiding redundant computations and improving GPU utilization. Our method also incorporates a fine-tuning step that optimizes Gaussian parameters based on StopThePop depth evaluations and Optimal Projection. We validate our method through a controlled user study with 25 participants, showing a strong preference for VRSplat over other configurations of Mini-Splatting. VRSplat is the first, systematically evaluated 3DGS approach capable of supporting modern VR applications, achieving 72+ FPS while eliminating popping and stereo-disrupting floaters.