RadianceKit User Guide
What is RadianceKit?
RadianceKit turns photos or videos of real-world objects into interactive 3D models using Gaussian Splatting — a modern technique that represents scenes as millions of tiny, colored 3D ellipsoids (called Gaussians) rather than traditional triangle meshes.
The result is a photorealistic 3D reconstruction you can view from any angle and export in various formats.
Quick Start
- Import — Drop photos or a video of your scene into the app
- Process — RadianceKit aligns your cameras and trains a Gaussian Splatting model
- Preview — Explore the 3D result in the interactive viewport
- Export — Save as PLY, SPZ, glTF, or other formats
Importing Media
Photos
For best results:
- Use 10–50 images taken around the object from different angles
- Overlap between consecutive images should be at least 60%
- Avoid motion blur and overexposed areas
- Consistent lighting produces the best results
- Supported formats: JPG, PNG, HEIC, TIFF
Video
Drop a video file (MP4, MOV) and RadianceKit will automatically extract frames. Adjust the sampling density to control how many frames are extracted per second of video.
- Higher density = more images = better quality, but longer processing
- A 10-second video at 2 fps density yields ~20 frames
Existing Scenes
You can also open previously exported scene files:
- .radiancescene — RadianceKit's native scene bundle (includes Gaussians + camera data)
- .ply / .spz / .splat — Gaussian Splatting files from other tools
Processing Pipeline
Camera Alignment (Structure from Motion)
RadianceKit first determines where each photo was taken from. This step, called Structure from Motion (SfM), analyzes visual features across your images to compute camera positions and orientations.
Two backends are available:
- Apple Photogrammetry — Built-in, no installation needed. Works well for most scenes.
- COLMAP — External tool, better for large outdoor scenes. Requires separate installation.
Gaussian Splatting Training
Once cameras are aligned, training begins. The algorithm:
- Places initial Gaussians at detected 3D points
- Iteratively refines their positions, colors, sizes, and orientations
- Periodically adds and removes Gaussians (densification) to capture detail
#### Training Presets
| Preset | Iterations | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Quick | 1,000 | Fast test, low quality |
| Preview | 5,000 | Quick preview |
| Balanced | 20,000 | Good quality, reasonable time |
| Quality | 40,000 | Best quality |
- Classic — Original clone/split/prune approach. Faster, produces more Gaussians.
- MCMC — Stochastic Gradient Langevin Dynamics (NeurIPS 2024). Fewer Gaussians, slower, but more compact results.
The Viewport
Navigation
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Mouse Drag | Orbit around the scene |
| Shift+Drag or Right-Drag | Pan the camera |
| Scroll Wheel | Zoom in/out |
| Double-click | Re-center on a point |
| Cmd+Scroll | Adjust field of view |
Fly-Through Mode
Press F to switch between Orbit and Fly-Through mode. In Fly-Through:
- WASD — Move forward/back/left/right
- Q / E — Move up/down
- Mouse controls look direction
Camera Views
- 0–9 — Jump to training camera positions (1 = first 10%, 0 = last)
- Left/Right Arrow — Step through training cameras
- R — Reset camera to default position
- T — Toggle auto-rotation (turntable)
- B — Cycle background color (dark gray / black / white)
Capturing
- S — Save a screenshot to the Desktop
- V — Record a 360° turntable video
- C — Copy camera position info to clipboard
Editing
Press Tab or use Viewport > Enter Edit Mode to activate the Gaussian editor.
- Click / Drag — Paint-select Gaussians with a brush
- Option+Click — Deselect Gaussians
- [ / ] — Decrease / increase brush size
- X or Delete — Delete selected Gaussians
- Cmd+Z — Undo last deletion
- Esc — Clear selection
Exporting
RadianceKit supports multiple export formats:
3D Formats
| Format | Extension | Description |
|---|---|---|
| PLY | .ply | Standard point cloud format. Widely supported. |
| Compressed PLY | .ply | Quantized attributes for smaller file size. |
| SPZ | .spz | Google's compact Gaussian format. Very small files. |
| glTF | .glb | Web-ready 3D format. Works with three.js and other viewers. |
| .splat | .splat | Lightweight format for web viewers. |
| SOG | .sog | Compact sorted Gaussian format. |
Media
| Format | Description |
|---|---|
| Orbit Video | 360° turntable video (MP4) |
| Web Viewer | Self-contained HTML file with interactive 3D viewer |
Post-Processing
Compactification can be enabled in the Enhancements section. It removes nearly-invisible Gaussians after training, reducing file size by ~55% with no visual quality loss.
Expert Mode
Switch to Expert Mode via Mode > Expert Mode (Cmd+2) for full control:
- Navigator (left sidebar) — Browse imported images, camera list, and log
- Inspector (right sidebar) — Training presets, configuration, live metrics, loss chart, enhancements, and export
- Viewport — Full interactive 3D view with all controls
- Drag inspector sections to reorder them; collapse sections you don't need
Tips for Best Results
- Overlap is key — Ensure at least 60% overlap between consecutive images
- Move around the object — Cover all sides, including top if possible
- Consistent lighting — Avoid mixed lighting or strong shadows that change between shots
- Steady shots — Avoid motion blur; tripod or stable handheld
- Neutral background — Simple backgrounds help the algorithm focus on the object
- More images help — 30–50 images usually produce excellent results
- Use Balanced or Quality presets — Quick/Preview are for testing; final results need more iterations
- Try MCMC for compact exports — If file size matters, MCMC produces ~70% fewer Gaussians
Keyboard Shortcuts Reference
Navigation
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Mouse Drag | Orbit / Look around |
| Shift+Drag / Right-Drag | Pan camera |
| Scroll | Zoom / Move forward |
| WASD | Move camera |
| Q / E | Move up / down |
| F | Toggle Orbit / Fly-Through |
| Double-click | Re-center on point |
| Cmd+Scroll | Adjust field of view |
Views
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| R | Reset camera |
| T | Toggle auto-rotation |
| P | Toggle camera playback |
| B | Cycle background |
| 0–9 | Jump to training camera |
| Left/Right Arrow | Previous/next camera |
Capture
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| S | Save screenshot |
| V | Record turntable video |
| C | Copy camera info |
Editor
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Tab | Toggle edit mode |
| Click / Drag | Select Gaussians |
| Option+Click | Deselect |
| X / Delete | Delete selected |
| Cmd+Z | Undo |
| [ / ] | Brush size |
| Esc | Clear selection |
Other
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Cmd+1 | Simple Mode |
| Cmd+2 | Expert Mode |
| Cmd+O | Open Scene |
| Cmd+S | Save Scene |
| Cmd+Shift+S | Save Screenshot |
| Cmd+Shift+T | Start Training |
| Cmd+? | Keyboard Shortcuts |
| H | Toggle help overlay |