Clipping or masking for Gaussian Splats

Question

The Clip Areas tool in Drone2Map works on 3D Mesh and 3D Point Cloud products, but not with Gaussian Splats.  I understand they are different file types.  I hoped to be able to open up the project in ArcGIS Pro and find another way to either clip or mask out areas of the Gaussian Splats, but haven't been successful.  Has anyone else found a good way to clean up their 3D scenes?

brian_terraformation · Answer

I must be missing something, but I cannot figure out how to generate the Gaussian splat from the clipped point cloud.  Even with the clipped point cloud in the map and project, it still creates it with the full point cloud Gaussian splat.

PatrickMaple · Answer

Hey Brian,

Been there. Spent two weeks on this last summer for a transmission line job. Frustrating.

Here's what actually works:

Go back to your Drone2Map project. Clip your point cloud first. Then generate the Gaussian Splat from that clipped cloud. The splat will only cover your area. Quality stays intact.

If you already have the splat and can't go back, export it to LAS, bring it into Pro, and use Extract LAS with a polygon mask. But honestly, colors get muddy, and edges get fuzzy. I only do that for internal reviews. Never for client deliverables.

Truth is, I've stopped using splats for anything precise. They look cool for quick walkthroughs and showing clients pretty pictures. But for cut/fill calcs or engineering measurements? I stick with meshes or point clouds. Splats just aren't there yet for real work.

If you have Pro 3.5 with 3D Analyst, try the Extract Scene tool. Handles splats better than LAS. Still not perfect but better.

There's an Idea post on Esri Community asking for Clip Areas on splats. I voted on it in January. Go find it and add your vote.

Hope this saves you the headache.

Patrick