If I understand correctly, this is essentially using neural nets to compress the information representing a 3D mesh [1], similar to how neural nets can do image upscaling on 2D images?
Either way, the technology of Star Trek The Next Generation went through a period in the late 90s where it all seemed ridiculous, and now we’ve come full circle and it all seems plausible again.
More specifically: I’d love to see a generative adversarial network that can materialize 3D worlds in real time, like the holodeck. More and more the holodeck seems plausible as a system of nets upon nets upon nets. Nets for generating models, nets for generating stories...
1: In this case the meshes are not polygons, but rather signed distance fields. Metaballs are commonly made with this technique.
Edit: thanks for catching the spelling mistake. Metaballs misspelled as Meatballs is a plague that continues for over two decades. Usually I try to avoid the trap altogether and say Implicit Surfaces :)
Either way, the technology of Star Trek The Next Generation went through a period in the late 90s where it all seemed ridiculous, and now we’ve come full circle and it all seems plausible again.
More specifically: I’d love to see a generative adversarial network that can materialize 3D worlds in real time, like the holodeck. More and more the holodeck seems plausible as a system of nets upon nets upon nets. Nets for generating models, nets for generating stories...
1: In this case the meshes are not polygons, but rather signed distance fields. Metaballs are commonly made with this technique.
Edit: thanks for catching the spelling mistake. Metaballs misspelled as Meatballs is a plague that continues for over two decades. Usually I try to avoid the trap altogether and say Implicit Surfaces :)