A UAV–3DGS–VR Workflow for Scenario-Comparable Immersive Review in Heritage Landscapes

A novel, low-cost UAV-based workflow enables immersive comparison of alternative construction scenarios in heritage landscapes. By integrating multi-angle UAV imagery with 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) and Unity-based virtual reality (VR), researchers reconstructed the Beemster Polder World Heritage site with high visual fidelity, as validated by PSNR and SSIM metrics. Behavioral data from eye-tracking and head-motion analysis further supported the subjective ranking of scenarios, revealing that one alternative (M1) was perceived as more compatible than others in this pilot study. This approach bridges reality capture, immersive scenario review, and behavioral evidence, offering a reusable framework for heritage landscape assessments.

Li, X., Sheng, W., Tang, Y., Yu, Y., & Peng, Y. (2026). A UAV–3DGS–VR Workflow for Scenario-Comparable Immersive Review in Heritage Landscapes. Drones, 10(6), 404. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones10060404