Point Clouds, 3D Gaussian Splatting, and Omnidirectional Imaging for 3D Scene Representation and Immersive Applications
A Special Issue of Information (ISSN 2078-2489) belonging to the section "Information Applications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2027
Editors
Interests: digital twins; modelling and simulation; distributed simulation; interoperability; IT solutions; process modelling; optimization; mathematical modelling; agent-based modelling and simulation; smart manufacturing; Industry 4.0; lean management; artificial intelligence
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: deep learning; image and signal processing; computer vision; multimedia communications; communication systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Point clouds and 3D Gaussian Splatting have emerged as two complementary paradigms for representing, reconstructing, and visualizing three-dimensional environments. Advances in LiDAR, RGB-D sensing, photogrammetry, multi-view imaging, and omnidirectional (360°) imaging have enabled the acquisition of increasingly rich geometric and visual information, supporting the reconstruction of accurate point cloud models and photorealistic Gaussian-based scene representations and neural rendering methods. Omnidirectional images complement geometric representations by providing immersive visual information for panoramic scene understanding, telepresence, and virtual reality applications. Together, these representations provide the foundation for intelligent 3D scene understanding, real-time rendering, and immersive applications including virtual, augmented, mixed, and extended reality (VR/AR/MR/XR), as well as telepresence, robotics, autonomous systems, digital twins, and spatial computing. Recent advances in artificial intelligence, multimodal sensing, rendering, and immersive media delivery have significantly expanded the capabilities of these systems while introducing new challenges related to scalability, interoperability, semantic representation, and efficient management of large-scale 3D information. This Special Issue aims to bring together researchers working on the acquisition, representation, processing, analysis, fusion, transmission, rendering, and intelligent exploitation of point clouds, omnidirectional images and videos, and Gaussian-based scene representations. Contributions addressing theoretical foundations, novel algorithms, AI-driven methods, information management, visualization techniques, software frameworks, and real-world applications are welcome. The objective is to highlight innovative approaches that transform raw geometric and visual data into meaningful, interactive, and semantically rich digital environments for next-generation immersive systems.
Dr. Jalal Possik
Prof. Dr. Charles Yaacoub
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Information is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- point clouds
- 3D Gaussian splatting
- immersive media
- LiDAR
- omnidirectional (360°) imaging
- 3D scene rendering
- compression and streaming
- digital twins
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
