Getting Started with Gaussian Splats

With the Gaussian Splatting extension, you can view and manipulate high-resolution, photorealistic 3D environments in your SketchUp models. To help you, we’ll walk you through installing the extension and loading up your first splat.

System Requirements

To use the Gaussian Splatting extension, you’ll need the following:

• Microsoft Windows. MacOS is not supported.

• SketchUp 2024 or higher.

• An active SketchUp Pro, Pro Scan, Pro Advance Workflows, or Studio subscription.

Installing the Extension

To begin using the Gaussian Splatting extension:

1. Open Extension Warehouse and search for Gaussian Splats. 

2. Download and install the latest version of the Gaussian Splats extension.

3. Close and restart SketchUp. The Gaussian Splatting toolbar will become available for you to place on your workspace.

Loading Your First Splat

The extension requires a splat file to work. If you are new to using Gaussian Splats and want to try it out, the extension offers sample files you can use to see how it works. 

If you have your own splat file, it must be in one of the following formats: 

• .ply

• .splat

• .spz

• .sklat

• .lcc

When you are ready to upload your first splat, follow these steps:

1. Click Gaussian Splatting Manager () on the toolbar. The manager window will appear.

2. Click Add New in the top-right corner of the manager.

3. Select Import File to browse for your own splat file from your device, or select Load Sample to practice using one of the provided test files.

4. Select the splat file you want to import and click Open. The splat will appear in the modeling window.

Configuring Your Splat

After importing a splat, there may be artifacts or other aspects of the splat that may not be usable in SketchUp. The configuration wizard that appears after import can help you clean up those artifacts, adjust how the splat appears, and adjust scale, positioning, and orientation.

The wizard features 5 steps:

1. Crop – The first step identifies where there’s a higher density of points in a splat and crops around that area, that way you don't have to search for the object or area you captured. Using the slider provided, you can adjust the cropping box to make sure that all needed aspects of the splat are visible

2. Orient – Next, the extension automatically displays planes that are calculated from recognized faces within the splat. You can select any of these faces and specify what plane in your SketchUp model these should be aligned to. Once you select the horizontal plane, you can lock it, allowing you to select a vertical plane.

3. Align – After orienting your splat, the original bounding box may not align with the global SketchUp axes. During this step, the wizard helps you align your splat with the axes.

4. Scale – Splats captured using simple images or non-LIDAR video might be out of scale. During this step, you will select two points in your splat and specify a dimension. That specified dimension will then be used to scale your entire splat.

5. Position – In this step, you can move your splat at the desired position using the Gaussian Splat extension’s Move tool.
   

   

After uploading and configuring your splat, you’ll see it listed in the Gaussian Splatting Manager with any other splats in your model. You can then use the options in the context menu to:

• Run the configuration wizard again.

• Lock the splat and prevent any further changes.

• Rename the splat.

• Reset the splat, removing any configuration changes made up to this point.

• Delete the splat from your model.