Meta Quest 3: Niantic makes spatial scans tangible
The free "Enter the Scaniverse" takes Quest 3 owners into their own spatial "Gaussian Splats" – or those of other users.
(Image: Niantic)
Owners of the VR goggles Meta Quest 3 and 3S can now easily immerse themselves in over 50,000 spatial "Gaussian Splats" that have previously been scanned with a smartphone. This is made possible by the "Enter the Scaniverse" app from Pokémon Go developer Niantic. It will be released on Wednesday, February 26, 2025 as a free downloadable app in the Quest Store. A beta with a WebXR version of the app was previously available.
You float around the globe in a virtual hot air balloon to open other users' images (such as statues, shrines or ornate gardens) and walk through the scene using the analog stick. The spatial points of the scenery are not displayed as triangles, as is familiar from textured polygons in computer games. Instead, small round "splashes" float everywhere in the room, which can be easily recognized individually when zooming in. From a greater distance, they sometimes merge into an almost photorealistic result that provides an authentic image from every angle. Up close or at the edge, however, you can also see unsightly, blurred areas.
Recording via smartphone, viewing in VR
A supported modern iPhone or Android smartphone is required to take your own pictures. After starting the app and taking the photo, simply circle the subject slowly, bend your knees and capture it from above. After around three minutes, the local calculation starts directly on the cell phone. A connection to the Internet is not necessary. After a few minutes, the result can be viewed and moved directly on the touchscreen. However, you will need to log in with an Apple or Google account to upload the results. If you want to distribute likes and see your personal "splat overview", you also need to link the Quest app to the app opened on your smartphone using a code.
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During a short test, it was quite appealing to move through your own recordings later with the VR glasses. When flying in a virtual hot air balloon, you simply press the A and B buttons on the right-hand controller to zoom in on the map and find objects in your own city. The spatial representation is much better in virtual reality. As everything appears much larger, errors and unsightly areas in the background are also much more noticeable. Meta's older VR goggles Quest 1 and 2 no longer support the app.
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Incidentally, many of the scans available on the world map still come from Niantic's AR games Ingress and Pokémon Go. According to rumors, the company wants to part with its successful game after other AR titles failed to match its popularity. "Gaussian Splats" can also be created with other apps such as Polycam. You can find out how this works and how to transport the recordings into a game engine such as Unreal or Unity in this article. Quest owners will also find Gracia and Meta's Hyperscape demo exciting ways to immerse themselves spatially in realistic scenes.
(jpw)
