3D Gaussian Splatting and Mesh-Based Digital Twins: An Exploratory Study for Virtual Reality Tourism
2026-08-03 • Human-Computer Interaction
Human-Computer Interaction
AI summaryⓘ
The authors studied two ways to create virtual tourist spots for VR: one using traditional 3D models (meshes) and another using a newer method called 3D Gaussian splatting (3DGS). They asked 20 people to try both and share their experiences, focusing on enjoyment, feeling of being there, motion sickness, and how real it felt. People liked both, but the mesh model was easier to use while 3DGS felt more realistic but had some practical issues. The authors suggest there’s room to make both methods feel more immersive and comfortable. Their work helps us understand how people experience virtual tourism using these different 3D techniques.
Digital TwinsVirtual Reality3D Gaussian Splatting3D MeshUser ExperienceCybersicknessPresenceVirtual TourismAffect
Authors
Maximilian Warsinke, Francesco Vona, Abm Tariqul Islam, Tanja Kojić, Jan-Niklas Voigt-Antons, Sebastian Möller
Abstract
Digital Twins (DTs) are increasingly used for immersive experiences in virtual tourism. Virtual Reality (VR) enables remote visits to replicated locations for promotional purposes or access to fragile and rural cultural heritage sites. However, developing high-fidelity DTs of tourist destinations is costly, due to the manual creation of 3D environments. Novel 3D rendering techniques, such as 3D Gaussian splatting (3DGS), pose a promising approach to creating immersive experiences. This study investigates the user experience (UX) of a 3D-mesh-based scene and a 3DGS-based scene within a VR tourism application. In a laboratory study, 20 participants engaged with both versions and rated UX, cybersickness, presence and affect through standardized questionnaires. A custom questionnaire was created to measure the perception of the DTs. The collected data suggests that both versions were enjoyed and induced positive affect, with the Mesh version receiving good UX ratings. While the 3DGS version scored higher in terms of experienced realism, it showed clear weaknesses in pragmatic quality. Further, the results suggest that the feeling of presence could be enhanced and cybersickness reduced in both versions. Overall, the study contributes to the understanding of UX in VR tourism applications by implementing mesh-based and 3DGS-based DTs and raising important questions about the perception of realism.