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Chris Higgins
PhotoSketch: Make the Internet Create Photos for You
by Chris Higgins - October 7, 2009 - 1:08 PM

PhotoSketch - wedding

So this is real. Seriously. A group of researchers have put together a system called PhotoSketch which allows the user to literally sketch a desired scene (see above for an example), label each part of the scene with keywords, then PhotoSketch searches the web for photos and assembles a photographic version of the sketch. Um. Wow?

If you’ll recall, Skynet (the killer computer “defense” system from Terminator) became self-aware at 2:14am EDT August 29, 1997. So it’s taken Skynet twelve years to learn how to draw. I think we’re safe for a bit longer. But sketch while you can, people. There is no fate but what we make.

Here’s a video of PhotoSketch in action:

PhotoSketch: Internet Image Montage from tao chen on Vimeo.

(Note: you can watch in HD at the Vimeo site.)

Also for what it’s worth, many commenters have been insisting that this is a hoax. How could a computer possibly do such a thing? Well, the creators have released the source code binaries (Windows only, link updated), presented a paper at SIGGRAPH Asia 2009 on the technology, and even made that paper available for download.

(Via Kottke.org.)

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Comments (10)

  1. They didn’t actually release working binaries for the whole program, just the image filtering portion. They said they are working on a demo of the working program now.

    I’m skeptical, but we’ll see. I don’t believe the AI for this exists yet.

    posted by noss on 10-7-2009 at 2:02 pm

  2. “released the source code” -> It’s only the executable binaries

    posted by bort on 10-7-2009 at 3:50 pm

  3. I’ve always wanted something like this to exist. . . just never thought it actually would. . . mind-boggling.

    posted by soandso on 10-7-2009 at 8:02 pm

  4. oh man, if this thing really gets released.. people are going to make some messed up images.

    posted by c45j on 10-7-2009 at 11:21 pm

  5. released the source code not working. The page cannot be found: 404

    posted by saalocin on 10-8-2009 at 3:13 am

  6. Bort is correct, it’s actually binaries, not source code. Still. I have corrected the link to those binaries (they moved the file in the last 24 hours, presumably to a higher-volume server).

    posted by Chris Higgins on 10-8-2009 at 12:08 pm

  7. This technology does exist. You make a sketch that is uploaded to a warehouse in India where 30 indians to the work for less then the minimum wage of a single person of most western countries.

    posted by randy little on 10-8-2009 at 5:57 pm

  8. When they produce the demo be sure to post it =)

    posted by Lauren on 10-9-2009 at 7:53 pm

  9. I was hoping that this would be something I could play with now. Alas, it’s not. I’d like to see it when it’s released, though, if it is real.

    posted by Anne on 10-11-2009 at 7:18 pm

  10. If you have to define SkyNet for the reader, the reader doesn’t deserve to get the joke.

    posted by Virginia on 10-12-2009 at 11:23 am

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