Nextech AR Achieves Generative AI Breakthrough

Nextech AR Solutions Corp., an augmented reality, metaverse company and 3D model supplier for Amazon and other major ecommerce retailers and brands, has achieved with the help of generative artificial intelligence a breakthrough in texture expansion, according to the company. The company can now recreate high-quality 4K textures at scale from 250 px x 250px of digital swatches in seconds versus hours of manual labor, the company says. 

Nextech's generative AI-powered technology allows for real-time, interactive texture expansion. The technology was able to expand a 250x191 pixel patch more than 160 times into a 4K image in 40.5 seconds, according to the company. Previously, reference images were used, which often contain small patches of patterns and textures, making it difficult for artists to recreate them in a high-quality manner.

“Our technology shows over 720-fold improvement in speed,” says Nima Shashar, chief technical officer of Nextech. “With this technology we will revolutionize the 3D modeling industry and make it possible to create photo-realistic 3D models as digital replicas of real-world products with ease and efficiency, with the ability to meet the demand for the 3D models on a global scale.”

Traditionally, recreating textures for 3D models has been a time-consuming task for artists, involving hours of work in PhotoShop and other tools. Physics-based rendering is the standard representation of a material in 3D modeling, and it consists of several maps, including a texture map, which is the main image representing the color and patterns of the material. Other maps, such as metallic and roughness, define how light interacts with a material and give it its finished look.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.