It's generating gaussian splats, so not quite 3D worlds. In short, they're pseudo 3D in that there is in fact a 3D point cloud, but the points are elliptical angular-dependent colored splats that get projected into 2D space[1]. They're better for reconstructing source-realistic renderings from a constrained view box, but break down outside of that.

They're a really cool way to capture spatial memories though! Friends and I occasionally use Polycam or Luma Labs apps. But there's not _too much_ you can do with them due to the above limitations.

From a brief look at the OP link, World Labs seems to be generating a 360º gaussian splat (for a limited view box) from a still photo, which is cool as hell! But we still have the same problem of "what do we do with gaussian splats".

[1] This description is hand-wavey as I'm a relative layman when it comes to how these work. I'm sure someone can reply with a more precise answer if this one is bad.

In some angles you can appreciate artifacts that resemble those of gaussian splats. I’d bet is a 3D representation but not your traditional mesh. Very cool

Is that important? If the perspective trick works, you can probably do some variation of photogrammetry and get a 3D model

I don't see any mention of being able to export 3d models from this.