Gaussian On-the-Fly Splatting: A Progressive Framework for Robust Near Real-Time 3DGS Optimization

3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) achieves high-fidelity rendering with fast real-time performance, but existing methods rely on offline training after full Structure-from-Motion (SfM) processing. In contrast, this work introduces On-the-Fly GS, a progressive framework enabling near real-time 3DGS optimization during image capture. As each image arrives, its pose and sparse points are updated via on-the-fly SfM, and newly optimized Gaussians are immediately integrated into the 3DGS field. We propose a progressive local optimization strategy to prioritize new images and their neighbors by their corresponding overlapping relationship, allowing the new image and its overlapping images to get more training. To further stabilize training across old and new images, an adaptive learning rate schedule balances the iterations and the learning rate. Moreover, to maintain overall quality of the 3DGS field, an efficient global optimization scheme prevents overfitting to the newly added images. Experiments on multiple benchmark datasets show that our On-the-Fly GS reduces training time significantly, optimizing each new image in seconds with minimal rendering loss, offering the first practical step toward rapid, progressive 3DGS reconstruction.

Exploring the potential of collaborative UAV 3D mapping in Kenyan savanna for wildlife research

UAV-based biodiversity conservation applications have exhibited many data acquisition advantages for researchers. UAV platforms with embedded data processing hardware can support conservation challenges through 3D habitat mapping, surveillance and monitoring solutions. High-quality real-time scene reconstruction as well as real-time UAV localization can optimize the exploration vs exploitation balance of single or collaborative mission. In this work, we explore the potential of two collaborative frameworks - Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (V-SLAM) and Structure-from-Motion (SfM) for 3D mapping purposes and compare results with standard offline approaches.