Vulkan 3D Gaussian Splatting - HUMAN SENSING LAB

Cross-platform 3D Gaussian Splatting implementation with KeyFrame Animation system using pure Vulkan compute shaders — no CUDA dependencies. Python support.

Real-time rendering with keyframe animation system and configurable parameters on NVIDIA RTX 3060 ti

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Example PLY: https://huggingface.co/datasets/dylanebert/3dgs/tree/main/bonsai/point_cloud/iteration_30000 SH_DEGREE=3

Most 3DGS implementations rely on CUDA, locking them to NVIDIA GPUs. This project uses standard Vulkan 1.3, and provides:

• ✅ Cross-platform: Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux

• ✅ Any GPU vendor: NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Apple Silicon

• ✅ HPC render: 30-90fps real-time gaussian rendering.

• ✅ Python Integration: Bindings to run the renderer from python. For this, check Vulkan 3dgs Python

• ✅ ImGui control System: Features a Keyframe Animation system for real-time rendering, adjustable FOV, wireframe mode, position, rotation, performance metrics, and more.

• ✅ World Axis Reference: Easily modify the coordinate system to match your target PLY file, useful for tilted point clouds or specific viewing rotations.

  Note: For AMD change the SUBGROUP_SIZE to 64 in the radix_sort/radixsort.comp shader

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Keyframe Animation System

Camera Animation:

• Keyframe Recording: Capture camera positions, rotations, and rendering parameters at specific time points
• Smooth Interpolation: Automatic interpolation between keyframes for cinematic camera movements
• Playback Control: Play, stop, and loop through your animation sequences
• Parameter Animation: Animate FOV, near/far planes, wireframe mode, and more

Configurable Parameters

Real-time Controls via ImGui:

• Camera Settings:

  • FOV adjustment (30 - 120)
  • Mouse sensitivity (0.01 - 0.4)
  • Movement speed (1.0 - 10.0)

• Rendering Options:

  • Distance culling with adjustable near/far planes
  • Wireframe mode with Gaussian scale control
  • Real-time performance metrics (FPS, GPU memory)
  • Tile size configuration (currently fixed at 16)

• Animation Keyframes Include:

  • Camera position (X, Y, Z)
  • Camera rotation (Yaw, Pitch)
  • Field of View
  • Near/Far culling planes
  • Wireframe mode toggle
  • Timing control

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Building from Source

Prerequisites

• Vulkan SDK 1.3+ - Download from https://vulkan.lunarg.com/
• Compiler: Visual Studio 2022 (Windows) or GCC/Clang (Linux/macOS)
• CMake 3.16+

Step 1: Clone the Repository

git clone --recursive https://github.com/AlejandroAmat/3dgs-vulkan-cpp.git
cd 3dgs-vulkan-cpp

Step 2: Create Build Directory

mkdir build
cd build

Step 3: Configure with CMake

cmake ..

For Visual Studio users, specify the generator:

cmake -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" ..

Step 4: Build the Project

# Release build (recommended)
cmake --build . --config Release

# Debug build
cmake --build . --config Debug

Alternative for Visual Studio:

• Open build/vulkan-3dgs.sln
• Set vulkan-3dgs as the startup project
• Press F5 to build and run
• Note: The program expects PLY path and optionally width and height - configure these in project properties

Step 5: Locate the Executable

The executable will be created in:

• Windows: build/vulkan-3dgs/Release/vulkan-3dgs.exe (or Debug/)
• Linux/macOS: build/vulkan-3dgs/vulkan-3dgs

Step 6: Run the Application

# Navigate to the executable directory (vulkan-3dgs MacOs/Linux, vulkan-3dgs/Release Windows)
cd vulkan-3dgs/Release

# Run with a PLY file
./vulkan-3dgs.exe path/to/your/pointcloud.ply (optional): width height

#Example

./vulkan-3dgs.exe bonsai.ply

./vulkan-3dgs.exe bonsai.ply 1600 800

Platform-Specific Issues

macOS

• Metal Argument Buffers: For some Vulkan/MoltenVK versions, set MVK_CONFIG_USE_METAL_ARGUMENT_BUFFERS=0 before running
• Vulkan SDK 1.3.290 is tested and does not require this workaround

Directory Structure After Build (Windows: For Linux/MacOS, no Release/Debug folder)

build/
└── vulkan-3dgs/
    └── Release/
        ├── vulkan-3dgs.exe
        ├── Shaders/
        │   ├── preprocess.spv
        │   ├── render.spv
        │   └── ... (other shader files)
        └── (place your .ply file here or specify full path)

Vulkan 3DGS running on MacBook Air M2

Usage & Controls

Camera Controls

• WASD - Move forward/backward/left/right
• Q/E - Rotate (Roll)
• C/Space - Move up/down
• Right Mouse + Drag / Two-finger drag (trackpad) - Look around

Animation Workflow

1. Enter Sequence Mode - Click "Enter Sequence" in the Camera Sequence window
2. Position Camera - Navigate to desired viewpoint
3. Add Keyframe - Captures current camera state and parameters
4. Repeat - Add multiple keyframes at different times
5. Play - Watch smooth interpolated animation
6. Export - Record to video with consistent framerate

ImGui Interface

• Performance Panel - Real-time FPS, frame time, GPU memory usage
• Camera Panel - Position, rotation, FOV, speed controls
• Rendering Panel - Culling, wireframe, tile size options
• Sequence Panel - Keyframe management and playback

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Tech Stack

• Graphics API: Vulkan 1.3 (compute + graphics)
• Language: C++17 with modern practices
• Shaders: GLSL → SPIR-V compilation
• Math Library: GLM for transforms
• UI Framework: Dear ImGui for controls
• Build System: CMake (cross-platform)
• Windowing: GLFW for cross-platform support
• Radix Sort: VkRadixSort by MircoWerner for GPU depth sorting with modifications done by 3ds.cpp
• Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS (mobile planned)

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Requirements

• Vulkan 1.3 compatible GPU and drivers
• C++17 compiler
• CMake 3.16+
• Vulkan SDK

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📄 License

MIT