What if a real-time automated decision-making process needs a computer vision system to produce photorealistic visuals in a mere fraction of a second? In many cases, this requires too much computational power — if it’s even possible at all. When computer vision uses 3D Gaussian splatting (3DGS), it provides a photorealistic image, but the process takes far too long. For more on this topic, see our article on computer vision for disaster responses.
This article discusses a new approach, Progressive Rendering of Gaussian Splats (PRoGS), which uses a contribution-based prioritization system that prioritizes each Gaussian based on how much it contributes to the overall quality of the scene. This technology was discussed in a paper written for the 2025 IEEE/CVF Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision (WACV).
How PRoGS Bridges the Gap Between Point Clouds and High-Quality Renderings
PRoGS produces high-quality renderings more efficiently by prioritizing larger, more opaque Gaussians and rendering them first. According to the paper, the process follows three basic steps:
PRoGS analyzes the training views of a 3D scene and identifies the biggest Gaussians that are the most opaque. Due to their size and opacity, these contribute more to the image of what’s actually in the scene. PRoGS creates a prioritized list of the Gaussians it identified, ranking them according to how important they are for the overall quality of the scene. Instead of loading all Gaussians at the same time, PRoGS renders them according to the prioritized order in step 2. As a result, it displays the most visually impactful Gaussians first, producing a more recognizable version of the scene faster.
While the scene is still blurry, it’s still recognizable, and gets clearer and clearer as PRoGS loads more Gaussians.
How PRoGS Produces High-Quality Renderings from a Visual Perspective
From a visual perspective, the PRoGS process is similar to an image being sketched step by step: It’s obvious early on what the artist is depicting, yet the specifics of the image only become evident as the artist fills in the granular details. Here’s how the process breaks down from a visual perspective:
Initial stage. PRoGS produces a blurry but easily recognizable depiction of the image consisting of only the most important Gaussian splats. Intermediate stage. The image gets more definition as PRoGS adds more Gaussian splats. At this point, textures and edges start to sharpen. Final stage. The image reaches full clarity as all splats get loaded. This results in a complete, high-quality image.
PRoGS vs. Traditional Rendering
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