Experiencing Gracia’s Interactive Volumetric Scenes: My Impressions

Let me take you on a journey through one of the most memorable experiences I had at AWE Europe, an unexpected encounter that wasn’t even part of the official lineup. It was a spontaneous demo from Gracia, showcasing their dynamic volumetric scenes, right there in the event’s corridors. The experience left such an impression on me that I’m eager to share it.

Gracia

Gracia, a budding startup, dreams of becoming the YouTube for volumetric content using Gaussian Splats technology. They envision a world where creators can easily upload 3D scenes using just their phones, sharing these experiences with users who can fully immerse themselves in them. Imagine navigating scenes as if you were the creator, all thanks to the power of Gaussian Splats.

At the moment, Gracia is in its early stages. They’ve developed an app for both Quest and Steam VR that allows users to explore a handful of scenes captured by their team. The Quest version, due to hardware constraints, only offers default scenes and operates with reduced visual quality. However, the fact that it’s even possible on Quest is a testament to the team’s impressive optimizations.

I recently tried Gracia on Quest and noted its intriguing potential, but also couldn’t ignore some existing issues, like noticeable scan artifacts and a lackluster UI. Unfortunately, my laptop couldn’t support the PC version at the time, leaving my comparison incomplete.

That changed at AWE, where I was fortunate enough to receive an impromptu demo from Tipatat Chennavasin on his high-powered laptop. This allowed me to witness first-hand the latest feature: moving volumetric scenes.

Moving Volumetric Scenes

Gracia has digitized a handful of small, animated scenes, usually featuring people, each running for about 10-30 seconds. Now, you can step into the Gracia app on SteamVR and experience what’s akin to a short volumetric movie playing right before your eyes, all created with Gaussian Splats. It’s a groundbreaking step, as previous similar applications, such as Meta Horizon Hyperscape, often only managed static scenes. The challenge? These scenes, while cutting-edge, are extremely demanding to scan and render and remain an experimental addition:

"Gracia mentions these clips were captured using costly 3D scanning setups, and each frame required around six minutes to train. This adds up to weeks of AWS compute time per minute, although parallel processing can speed things up. Additionally, the clips are hefty, with download sizes over 300 MB per second, demanding a 2.4 Gbps internet connection for streaming—a rarity for most people. However, Gracia is optimistic that advances in compression will soon cut bandwidth requirements to manageable levels. They’re also exploring VR streaming capabilities over the cloud."

Hands-On with Gracia’s Moving Scenes on PC

Against the din of the event, Tipatat handed me a sleek Quest headset connected via an eye-catching orange cable to his laptop. As I slipped it on, the first sight to greet me was Gracia’s unwieldy UI, which I quickly brushed aside. But as soon as I settled into the scene, I was captivated—a blond girl was dancing right in front of me, dazzling in her detail and movement. I couldn’t help but be awed, fitting as we were at AWE. (Pardon the pun, but if you didn’t chuckle, I won’t be offended if you move on!)

The visual fidelity on PC was worlds apart from what I experienced on Quest. On Quest, while the Cyberpunk scene girl looked decent, artifacts marred her appearance, giving the impression of a light fur on her skin due to compression.

On the PC, however, those distracting imperfections vanished. The girl’s appearance was remarkably lifelike, not entirely real as some brush-like imperfections remained visible upon close scrutiny, but nonetheless impressive, far surpassing even Metahuman standards. Most striking was her movement; fluid and realistic, allowing me to move around her and appreciate the scene from any angle, which added to the realism. At one point, I crouched to change my perspective, only for Tipatat to jokingly call me out, "You perv, peeking under her skirt!" I insisted I was simply exploring different views, though I suspect my protest fell on deaf ears.

This playful interaction sparked a thought on the potential for such content within the adult industry. Imagine a high-quality, lifelike moving person viewed from all angles, perhaps even in AR right in your living room—this could indeed be the future of adult entertainment. Historically, this sector has pushed technological growth, and could significantly propel forward this burgeoning volumetric tech.

Another exciting note was the interactive ability to manipulate the scene with controllers. Shrinking the dancer down to toy-size to fit in my palm, she looked even more lifelike, as the small imperfections disappeared.

I was also able to pause and examine her in greater detail, appreciating the semi-transparent nature of her outfit. After the dancing scene, I explored two additional ones: a joyous family dancing with their baby—rich in authenticity—and a more straightforward culinary lesson led by a chef, which was a bit rougher around the edges both in scan quality and its engagement level.

Final Thoughts

I must admit, the moving volumetric scenes in Gracia exceeded my expectations. They hold promise as a revolutionary new medium for sharing memories; imagine capturing life’s precious moments as interactive 3D experiences to be revisited in all their dimensional glory.

Yet, we’re not quite there. Though the quality is satisfactory for general audience use, the tools required for capturing remain cumbersome and costly, and the media itself is a beast to download and render. The vision is that, one day, a simple phone and a mobile headset will be all it takes to create and enjoy these experiences—when that future arrives, it’ll transform our interaction with 3D content.

In the meantime, if you have a robust PCVR setup, I wholeheartedly recommend giving Gracia’s moving scenes a whirl; they’re truly an eye-opener.

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