New AI can create a 3D model of an object from a single 2D image

NVIDIA has built an artificial intelligence that can create a detailed 3D model of an object -- all from just a single image of it. The system, dubbed the "differentiable interpolation-based renderer" (DIB-R), is the first AI to manage that feat, and also produces its models in less than 100 milliseconds -- a capability that NVIDIA says could make the AI ideal for use in autonomous robots. According to a NVIDIA blog post, it takes about two days to train DIB-R to produce models of certain type of object. After training the AI on photos of birds, for example, the researchers could feed it a photo of a bird it hadn't seen before, and the system could speedily produce a 3D model of the bird predicting its shape, color, and texture. NVIDIA opined that autonomous robots could use DIB-R to improve their depth perception, allowing them to navigate their 3D environments more easily.