scatter3 — Create 3-D scatter plots for spatial point clouds, encoded markers, and MATLAB scatter3 workflows.

scatter3 creates 3-D marker plots from matching x, y, and z coordinates. In RunMat it participates in the handle-returning plotting system, which means you can combine it with subplot, inspect the figure with get, adjust camera angles with view, and keep GPU-resident inputs on device when the shared rendering path is available.

How scatter3 works

• scatter3(x, y, z) requires matching element counts across all three inputs.
• The builtin returns a scatter handle for the created plot object.
• 3-D scatter plots work naturally with view and zlabel, and all camera state remains subplot-local.
• GPU-resident coordinate buffers can feed the renderer directly on the happy path; otherwise RunMat gathers once before plotting.
• Marker size and display-name style workflows are handled through the shared plotting object/property system.

How RunMat runs scatter3 on the GPU

The preferred path keeps point buffers on the device and emits renderer-ready geometry without a full host round-trip.

Subplot, view, and object-handle behavior is the same on both the GPU and fallback host paths.

GPU memory and residency

scatter3 preserves GPU residency when the plotting path can consume exported coordinate buffers directly. If a direct GPU path is not available for the active combination, RunMat gathers once and renders the same plot semantics on the host path.

Examples

Plot a 3-D helix as a point cloud

t = linspace(0, 6*pi, 300);
scatter3(cos(t), sin(t), t);

Style a 3-D scatter plot and change the camera view

t = linspace(0, 4*pi, 200);
h = scatter3(cos(t), sin(t), t);
set(h, 'DisplayName', 'helix', 'SizeData', 10);
view(45, 25);

Use subplot-local camera state with multiple 3-D plots

subplot(1, 2, 1);
scatter3(1:10, rand(1,10), rand(1,10));
view(3);
subplot(1, 2, 2);
scatter3(rand(1,10), rand(1,10), rand(1,10));
view(2);

Expected output:

% The two subplots keep independent 3-D view state

3D point cloud with color-coded altitude

n = 2000;
theta = 4*pi*rand(1, n);
r = sqrt(rand(1, n));
x = r .* cos(theta);
y = r .* sin(theta);
z = sin(3*r) ./ (1 + r);

scatter3(x, y, z, 12, z, 'filled');
colormap('turbo');
colorbar;
title('3-D Point Cloud — Altitude Encoded');
xlabel('x');
ylabel('y');
zlabel('z');
view(35, 25);
grid on;

FAQ

t = linspace(0, 4*pi, 200);
sizes = linspace(5, 50, 200);
scatter3(cos(t), sin(t), t, sizes);

scatter3(x, y, z, 20, myValues);
colormap('turbo');
colorbar;

Related Plotting functions

More plotting resources

• Choosing the right plot type
• Styling plots and axes
• Plot replay and export
• Complete plotting guide

Open-source implementation

Unlike proprietary runtimes, every RunMat function is open-source. Read exactly how scatter3 works, line by line, in Rust.

• View scatter3.rs on GitHub
• Learn how the runtime works
• Found a bug? Open an issue with a minimal reproduction.

About RunMat

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