Editing tool reveals concealed scenes

A chair in a photograph of a living room, for example, can be turned around or even upside down in the photo, displaying sides of the chair that would have been hidden from the camera, yet appearing to be realistic.

This three-dimensional manipulation of objects in a single, two-dimensional photograph is possible because 3D numerical models of many everyday objects - furniture, cookware, cars, clothes, appliances - are readily available online.

The research team led by Yaser Sheikh, associate research professor of robotics, found they could create realistic edits by fitting these models into the geometry of the photo and then applying colours, textures and lighting consistent with the photo.

In a statement, Natasha Kholgade, a Ph.D. student in the Robotics Institute and lead author of the study said, ‘In the real world, we’re used to handling objects - lifting them, turning them around or knocking them over. We’ve created an environment that gives you that same freedom when editing a photo.’