Thing2Reality: Transforming 2D Content into Conditioned Multiviews and 3D Gaussian Objects for XR Communication

TL;DR

Thing2Reality is an XR platform that transforms 2D content into multiviews and 3D Gaussian objects, improving remote communication by enabling interactive, spatially referenceable digital representations of physical items.

Contribution

The paper introduces Thing2Reality, a novel XR system that converts 2D content into multiviews and 3D Gaussians for enhanced remote collaboration and discussion.

Findings

Interacting with 3D representations improves discussion efficiency.

Enables quick materialization of physical objects in immersive environments.

Enhances spatial referencing of shared digital content.

Abstract

During remote communication, participants often share both digital and physical content, such as product designs, digital assets, and environments, to enhance mutual understanding. Recent advances in augmented communication have facilitated users to swiftly create and share digital 2D copies of physical objects from video feeds into a shared space. However, conventional 2D representations of digital objects restricts users' ability to spatially reference items in a shared immersive environment. To address this, we propose Thing2Reality, an Extended Reality (XR) communication platform that enhances spontaneous discussions of both digital and physical items during remote sessions. With Thing2Reality, users can quickly materialize ideas or physical objects in immersive environments and share them as conditioned multiview renderings or 3D Gaussians. Thing2Reality enables users to interact with remote objects or discuss concepts in a collaborative manner. Our user study revealed that the ability to interact with and manipulate 3D representations of objects significantly enhances the efficiency of discussions, with the potential to augment discussion of 2D artifacts.