Corridor Channel had one great example: https://youtu.be/GaGcLhhhbDs?si=vDyeayLf8EAoE0gf&t=442

Above includes the explanation. Final result is here:

https://youtu.be/GaGcLhhhbDs?si=eoTniegWK-AVFoaF&t=751

Making a movable 3d scene from limited initial information. Some pros and cons against a traditional '3d model' approach. Pros - faster/simpler to generate (especially with lots of data), better at dealing with light and reflection. Cons - Having 3d geomtry can be useful eg. for collision detection, volumetric understanding, surface alteration/deformation etc.

Not much widespread use right now - Possible commercial use cases are things like real estate walkthroughs and maybe replacing a google street view with something more interactive.

Its really the latest incarnation in the field of Photogrammetry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photogrammetry - aka, converting 2D images / video to 3D data.

Imagine one of those house tours on Zoopla on steroids, or street view but smoother.

Splats are good for generating new images from an existing place even if no photograph exists from that exact viewpoint.

They can be used for video special effects, for 3D images/video, and for VR. The technology is nascent but shows promise.