3D Gaussian splatting (GS) has recently emerged as a transformative technique in the realm of explicit radiance field and computer graphics. This innovative approach, characterized by the utilization of millions of learnable 3D Gaussians, represents a significant departure from mainstream neural radiance field approaches, which predominantly use implicit, coordinate-based models to map spatial coordinates to pixel values. 3D GS, with its explicit scene representation and differentiable rendering algorithm, not only promises real-time rendering capability but also introduces unprecedented levels of editability. This positions 3D GS as a potential game-changer for the next generation of 3D reconstruction and representation. In the present paper, we provide the first systematic overview of the recent developments and critical contributions in the domain of 3D GS. We begin with a detailed exploration of the underlying principles and the driving forces behind the emergence of 3D GS, laying the groundwork for understanding its significance. A focal point of our discussion is the practical applicability of 3D GS. By enabling unprecedented rendering speed, 3D GS opens up a plethora of applications, ranging from virtual reality to interactive media and beyond. This is complemented by a comparative analysis of leading 3D GS models, evaluated across various benchmark tasks to highlight their performance and practical utility. The survey concludes by identifying current challenges and suggesting potential avenues for future research in this domain. Through this survey, we aim to provide a valuable resource for both newcomers and seasoned researchers, fostering further exploration and advancement in applicable and explicit radiance field representation.

翻译：三维高斯泼溅（3D Gaussian Splatting, GS）作为显式辐射场与计算机图形学领域的一项变革性技术，近年来崭露头角。这一创新方法以使用数百万个可学习的三维高斯分布为特征，显著区别于主流的神经辐射场方法——后者主要采用基于坐标的隐式模型将空间坐标映射至像素值。三维GS凭借其显式的场景表示与可微渲染算法，不仅有望实现实时渲染能力，更带来了前所未有的可编辑性，这使其有望成为下一代三维重建与表示技术的颠覆性力量。本文首次系统性地综述了三维GS领域的最新进展与关键贡献。我们首先深入探讨了三维GS的基本原理及其产生的驱动力，为理解其重要性奠定基础。讨论的核心聚焦于三维GS的实际适用性：通过实现前所未有的渲染速度，该技术为从虚拟现实到交互式媒体等广泛领域开辟了众多应用场景。本文进一步对主流三维GS模型进行了对比分析，通过在不同基准任务上的评估凸显其性能与实用价值。最后，我们指出了当前面临的挑战，并对该领域未来的研究方向提出潜在路径。本综述旨在为初学者与资深研究者提供有价值的参考，以促进适用性显式辐射场表示的进一步探索与发展。