At ACM SIGGRAPH 2025, I spoke with Shalini DeMello, Director of Research at NVIDIA, to explore her team’s groundbreaking work on 4D Gaussian Splatting and AI-driven avatars. Shalini leads NVIDIA’s AI-mediated reality and interaction research, focusing on how radiance field methods can power the future of telepresence, simulation, and communication. In this interview, we discuss: 👉 What 4D Gaussian Splatting is and why it matters 👉 QUEEN, NVIDIA’s algorithm for compressing and streaming dynamic 4D splats 👉 GAIA, a generative AI model for highly realistic 3D avatars 👉 How radiance fields enable next-generation video calls, telepresence, and immersive sports 👉 The role of simulation and physical AI in robotics and industrial applications 👉 Challenges and opportunities around compression standards and 3D delivery From VR headsets to 3D displays, Shalini shares why these technologies could redefine how humans connect, communicate, and experience media. QUEEN: research.nvid...