Insta360, the leading maker of 360-degree cameras, announced in 2026 a partnership with Splatica, a 12-person UK startup, to let consumers convert 360-degree video footage into interactive, photorealistic 3D environments using a technology called Gaussian splatting.
The workflow requires four steps: change two settings on a compatible Insta360 camera or Antigravity drone, record video while walking or flying around an area, upload the footage to a Splatica account, and wait approximately one day for a navigable 3D scene to appear in a web browser. The resulting environments can be explored using keyboard and mouse controls, similar to a video game.
Splatica’s technology is built around a proprietary version of SLAM — Simultaneous Localization and Mapping — designed specifically to generate accurate point clouds from 360-degree video. Those point clouds serve as the structural foundation of each 3D scene, which is then rendered using Gaussian splats. Splatica CEO and cofounder Eugene Nikolskii noted that Insta360 and Antigravity cameras embed useful metadata directly in their video files, including lens distortion parameters, accelerometer and gyroscope data, and GPS coordinates, which aids the reconstruction process.
Scans can be downloaded in PLY and USDZ formats and include real-world measurements, with Splatica cofounder Andrey Shelomentsev citing a typical error margin of one percent per 100 centimeters — “good enough for surveying and some rough exploration of the space,” he said, adding that accuracy improves when physical markers are placed around the area.
Insta360 cofounder Max Richter said the company’s cameras were already in use for real estate virtual tours, construction progress reports, and facility inspections, and that the company has enterprise customers piloting 3D reconstruction and digital twin workflows in construction and facilities management. Splatica has also positioned the technology as a tool for training robots in simulated factory environments before physical deployment.
The three companies — Insta360, Antigravity, and Splatica — have jointly launched a campaign called Project Eternal, described as a global initiative to preserve cultural landmarks. The campaign offers prizes for notable Gaussian splat submissions, 1,000 free Splatica uploads on a first-come, first-served basis, and a pilot project to scan Pompeii and Civita di Bagnoregio in Italy. The companies are also inviting creators to scan sites including Roman theaters and South Korea’s Jeju Island, though they acknowledged they are not helping creators obtain permits for those locations.
The service does carry limitations. Fine details in Gaussian splat renders can appear as translucent blobs of color rather than sharp textures, and traditional high-resolution photogrammetry may produce better results when surface detail is the primary concern. Splatica also notes it can only reconstruct areas that were captured on camera, meaning thorough coverage during filming is essential for quality results.
Pricing for Splatica’s service ranges from 18 to 25 cents per second of processed video, in addition to a monthly subscription. The company is currently adjusting its pricing tiers; as of publication, monthly plans are offered at $50, $150, and $300. The 1,000 free-upload slots waive the subscription fee and allow each user to process up to 10 minutes of footage. Splatica also maintains a public gallery of more than 100 existing splat scenes.
Source: The Verge