A team of researchers led by Professor Jun Yong Noh from the KAIST Graduate School of Culture Technology developed “NAKiD,” a software program with a threefold enhancement in the semiautomatic conversion efficiency of turning 2D images into 3D.

Last August, NAKiD was first presented at Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Technology event this year, also known as SIGGRAPH 2012, held in Los Angeles, and generated a lot of interest among the participants. SIGGRAPH is a renowned international conference and exhibition created by the Association for Computing Machinery.

The newly developed NAKiD technology could potentially complement or even replace the expensive equipment and techniques that are currently being used to generate 3D films.

For multi-view glasses-free 3D imaging, which enables multiple people to view a 3D image simultaneously without the use of glasses, many cameras are needed to film from multiple angles. However, with the NAKiD conversion technology, even content filmed with a single camera can be converted into 3D with ease. This not only simplifies the filming process, but also substantially decreases the production costs involved.

There are two general ways to create 3D content. One is to film using two cameras, and another is to use 2D to 3D conversion software. In the case of the two-camera filming, the equipment needed is expensive, and filmed images need further processing. The conversion software, on the other hand, does not require additional equipment and enables already generated 2D content to be regenerated into 3D. 2D to 3D conversion consists of three steps: object separation, depth formation, and stereo rendering. Professor Noh’s research team optimized each step in order to increase the conversion
efficiency in NAKiD.

According to Professor Noh, “Many 3D television displays have been developed and are being commercialized, but there are not a lot of programs that can be viewed in 3D.” He stressed the increasing research value of conversion technology in the graphics field, as it enables simple, low cost production of 3D content, and also stated that NAKiD’s remarkable improvement in conversion efficiency has given Korea an edge in the Asian conversion technology market.

The conversion technology know-how developed by Professor Noh’s research team has already been transferred to a few domestic firms, and has also been utilized in the production of the movie Sector 7, which was released in 2011.