Gracia's groundbreaking move to make its moving volumetric captures streamable is a game-changer for the immersive experience. This development not only removes the need for app downloads or content installation, but it also opens up a world of possibilities for mixed reality applications. The technology behind this achievement is Gaussian splatting, a technique that fits millions of semitransparent colored blobs (Gaussians) in 3D space, allowing for realistic, real-time rendering from any viewpoint. This is a significant advancement over traditional stereoscopic 3D video or limited-perspective synthetic depth, as it enables users to physically walk around in VR or mixed reality environments. The streaming capability, made possible by encoding keyframes and motion change deltas, eliminates the need for large file downloads, making it feasible for a wider range of users to access and enjoy volumetric content. The compression technology, combined with the use of WebGPU, ensures that the streaming is fast and efficient, rivaling native apps. This is a major step forward in the quest for a 'YouTube of truly volumetric content', as it addresses the issue of large file sizes and download requirements, allowing for longer and more complex scenes to be streamed. The current streaming capability is limited to 120K splats per frame, requiring a constant 75 Mbps connection, but the potential for future developments is vast. The ability to capture volumetric scenes with a couple of iPhones and significantly reduce processing time is a goal that could be achieved by the end of the decade, propelling the mainstream use of XR technology. The implications of this technology are far-reaching, from enhancing VR gaming experiences to revolutionizing social content feeds. However, the capture and processing requirements, such as the need for 60 shutter-synced and genlocked cameras, remain a challenge. Despite these challenges, Gracia's achievement is remarkable, and it paves the way for a future where volumetric content is more accessible and immersive than ever before.
