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Researchers Teach Computers To Perceive 3D from 2D

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the your-battlebot-wants-an-upgrade dept.

hamilton76 writes to tell us that researchers at Carnegie Mellon have found a way to allow computers to extrapolate 3 dimensional models from 2 dimensional pictures. From the article: "Using machine learning techniques, Robotics Institute researchers Alexei Efros and Martial Hebert, along with graduate student Derek Hoiem, have taught computers how to spot the visual cues that differentiate between vertical surfaces and horizontal surfaces in photographs of outdoor scenes. They've even developed a program that allows the computer to automatically generate 3-D reconstructions of scenes based on a single image. [...] Identifying vertical and horizontal surfaces and the orientation of those surfaces provides much of the information necessary for understanding the geometric context of an entire scene. Only about three percent of surfaces in a typical photo are at an angle, they have found."

3 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. Awesome! by rblum · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now run it on an Escher picture!

  2. Errr... by Ayanami+Rei · · Score: 5, Informative

    you've always been able to do that.
    Cities aren't the kind of thing this is target for.
    You can get building plans and architectural drawings and everything from the city for free. There are algorithms that can easily map pictures to objects if you know ahead of time the shape of the things that "should" be there.

    This stuff is for deciding the shape of unknown things, and more importantly, to gain new heuristics for image searches.

    With this technology, you could ask for "things that are round, and have a box".

    More importantly, you could show the computer one picture of something, and have it attempt to find more pictures of it (from different angles, with different colors, etc.). Like you show it a Volvo C90, and it shows you any and all pictures of Volvo C90s by the shape.

    --
    THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
  3. First application will be... by Onimaru · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...pr0n, of course. Now we can accurately predict and model the exact size and specularity of Linsey Lohan's boobies, using this revolutionary new (wait for it) Mellon Engine. Truly, we live in the future.

    --
    adam b.