Depth Generator: AI Information

What is it?

Depth Generator is a depth estimation tool that leverages the Depth Anything V2 AI model to generate depth data for footage and images. The model is a self-contained file installed locally on your machine. It does not learn from or share any content processed through it, nor does it rely on external servers or cloud-based processing. This means no data processed by the model leaves your machine.

How the model was trained

1. Training Data: The model learned from two types of images: 
   • Synthetic Images: These are computer-generated images that were created specifically for training the model. Each of these images came with exact depth labels (information about how far objects are in the image). 
   • Real Images: These are actual photographs or real-world visuals. Unlike synthetic images, they didn’t come with depth labels (the information about object distances had to be added later).
2. Labeling Real Images: Since the real images didn’t have depth information, the team used a "teacher model" (another AI system) to estimate depth for these images. This process created "pseudo-labels," which are approximate depth measurements assigned to the real images.
3. Why Use Real Images? Synthetic images are great for training because they’re perfectly labeled, but they don’t always capture the full variety or complexity of real-world visuals. Using real images helps the model learn from a wider range of scenarios, making it more accurate and reliable when working with real-world visuals.
4. Student Models: After the teacher model estimated the depth for the real images, the team trained the Depth Anything V2 model (called the “student model”) using these pseudo-labeled real images. This step helped the model get better at understanding depth in real-world scenarios.