Thermal footage gaussian splatting
Research & development
This is a first-of-its-kind Gaussian Splatting capture made from thermal camera footage. It originates from lo-fi data recorded on an off-brand Chinese mobile phone-chosen because the last real hardware leap in mobile phones was depth sensing on iPhones, which remains largely underused.
Phone hardware itself feels mostly complete; recent innovation has shifted to software, especially AI. Exploring beyond mainstream devices led us to rugged industrial phones with niche sensors, including thermal imaging. A decade ago, thermal cameras were military-grade and restricted; now they arrive next-day and integrate directly with mobile devices.
As we move toward spatial reality devices-glasses, wearables, even implants-the challenge will be how well they understand physical space. Thermal vision adds another layer of reality.