During my time on the AWE Europe show floor, I stumbled upon an impromptu demo from Gracia that left a lasting impression on me. It wasn’t part of the official lineup but definitely deserved recognition. So, let me fill you in on this exciting experience.
### Gracia
Gracia is aiming to revolutionize how we experience volumetric content with their platform dedicated to rendering scenes using Gaussian Splats. The ultimate goal? To be the YouTube for volumetric videos. They envision a future where creators can upload their 3D scenes—maybe even something captured with just a smartphone—and allow users to step into these digital environments. This new journey for Gracia starts with an app available on Quest and Steam VR, where you can explore a handful of scenes they’ve scanned. The version for Quest is pretty limited compared to Steam VR, mostly because of the intensive processing power required for Gaussian Splats, which impacts visual quality on mobile devices. Nonetheless, it’s incredible such an experience is available on Quest. Kudos to Gracia’s team for their remarkable optimizations.
A few weeks ago, I shared my thoughts on Gracia’s Quest version. While its potential was undeniable, I noted some challenges like noticeable artifacts in scans and a poorly designed UI. Unfortunately, without a high-powered PC, I couldn’t provide insights on the PC version.
Luckily, at AWE, Tipatat Chennavasin came to my rescue, offering a demo on his powerful laptop right there at the venue. He wanted me to experience the superior performance on PC, especially their intriguing new feature: moving volumetric scenes.
### Moving Volumetric Scenes
The talented Gracia team has ventured into digitizing animated scenes, usually brief clips of around 10-30 seconds featuring people. With the app on SteamVR, you can now immerse yourself in what feels like a short volumetric film unfolding before your eyes, thanks to those trusty Gaussian Splats. This is groundbreaking because, until now, similar tech, like Meta Horizon Hyperscape, mainly focused on static scenes. However, this innovation doesn’t come easy—as Upload VR highlights, these clips are challenging to scan and hefty to render, so they remain experimental:
> Gracia mentions these clips were captured in high-end 3D scanning studios, requiring about six minutes per frame for processing. This adds up to weeks of AWS computing time per video minute, though parallelization can lessen this burden. However, these clips’ download size is over 300 megabytes per second, necessitating a 2.4 gigabit internet connection for streaming, and that’s uncommon. Gracia predicts a tenfold compression improvement within a year, enabling feasible streaming on modern fast connections. They’re even looking into cloud VR streaming.
### Hands-on with Moving Volumetric Scenes on Gracia PC
In Gracia’s latest demo, Tipatat set up the app and handed me a snazzy Quest headset with an orange headband and cable, linking it to the PC. Slipping it on, I immediately dodged the lackluster UI to focus on the main attraction—an enthralling scene of a blonde girl dancing. I was utterly captivated. And yes, I know, pun intended since I was at AWE.
The visual quality on PC blew Quest’s out of the water. On Quest, the Cyberpunk scene had decent visuals, but the necessary compression resulted in minor artifacts, giving characters a faintly fuzzy appearance. That’s entirely eliminated on PC; the girl looked impressively lifelike. While she wasn’t indistinguishable from a real person due to some brush-like textures on her skin, it came remarkably close—more realistic than some MetaHumans even.
But what grabbed me more than the visuals was witnessing her move fluidly. Her dance was mesmerizing, and given the scene’s volumetric nature, I could circle around, viewing it from every angle. This made everything feel much more real, as if I was really there beside her.
At one point, in my curiosity-driven exploration, I crouched down to gain a new perspective. Tipatat, with a chuckle, teased, “Trying to sneak a peek, eh?” “No,” I laughed, “just checking different angles!” Of course, no one bought it, but it was all in good fun.
On a more serious note, this incident got me thinking about the impact this technology could have on the adult industry. A high-quality, interactive person you can view from any angle, potentially even in your room via AR—it’s clearly the future of entertainment. Historically, adult entertainment has driven tech innovations forward, and it could play a significant role in advancing Gaussian Splats too.
The controllers added another layer of fun; I could shrink and reposition the dancing girl to fit in my palm, minimizing artifact visibility and enhancing her lifelike appearance. And when paused, the details, like the semi-transparent dress, were impeccably displayed.
Beyond the dancing girl, I experienced two more scenes. One involved parents sharing a joyful dance with their baby, brimming with warmth. The other featured a chef sharing cooking tips—good but less touching due to greater scanning artifacts and a cooler vibe.
### Final Thoughts
I hadn’t anticipated being so impressed by Gracia’s moving volumetric scenes. They could very well shape the future of content sharing. Imagine capturing your most cherished moments not just in video but as 3D moving scenes, enhanced by Gaussian Splats, to relive them in stunning detail.
Although we’re not there yet, the current tech is promising. Even if capture equipment is pricey and the data hefty, if we reach a point where a simple phone and mobile headset can handle both scanning and viewing, it’ll be a major leap for 3D memories.
For now, if you have a powerful PCVR setup, I strongly recommend trying Gracia’s moving scenes. They’re a glimpse into something incredible.
(Header image courtesy of Gracia)
—
Disclaimer: This blog includes ads and affiliate links for support. Clicking an affiliate link earns me a small commission, which I’d really appreciate. For more detailed disclosure, click here.
