"Cut and Paste" Real Life Objects into Photoshop Using AI Program

You Can “Cut and Paste” Objects From Your Real-Life Surroundings Into Photoshop

By Megan Cooper on May 12, 2020

4/10 – Cut & paste your surroundings to Photoshop

Code: https://t.co/cVddH3u3ik

Book: @HOLOmagazine
Garment: SS17 by @thekarentopacio
Type: Sainte Colombe by @MinetYoann @ProductionType
Technical Insights: ↓#ML #AR #AI #AIUX #Adobe #Photoshop pic.twitter.com/LkTBe0t0rF

— Cyril Diagne (@cyrildiagne) May 3, 2020

French designer and programmer Cyril Diagne took to social media to show the world a truly mind-boggling, futuristic piece of software—his augmented reality “cut & paste” program, which looks like an elaborate prank come to life. Using Adobe Photoshop and various items around the room, Diagne can be seen plucking plants and books out of the real world and dropping them into the editing software.

The AR Cut and Paste program allows users to “cut” items out of real life using their smartphone, and then “paste” these objects into any editing software on their computer. Diagnes explains that two different pieces of technology come together to create this secret sauce. The artificial intelligence tech called BASNet allows your phone to identify the objects in a scene when taking a photograph, and “cut” them out of the scenery. This cutting action then combines with OpenCV SIFT, which syncs your phone and computer together so the software can detect exactly what needs to be “pasted.”

Cut it out. No, seriously. https://t.co/Lulnwo9G6e

— Adobe Photoshop (@Photoshop) May 6, 2020

Incredibly, the program takes only about two and a half seconds to detect the object and “copy” it from the real world, and another four to deposit the object into the document. This advanced program seems to be a natural evolution for where tech developers have been heading. Mobile games like Pokémon GO, retailers like IKEA and Target (to digitally preview home furnishings within one's own space), and social media apps—which integrate similar artificial intelligence software to cast images into the real world using smartphone cameras—captivated users just a few years ago.

Want to copy & paste real life for yourself? The code for Diagne’s AR Cut & Paste is available for download on Github, but is currently in the research and development phase. While it may not be ready for commercial use yet, we can expect that companies like Adobe may get involved in refining the program. From creating shortcut-enabled Photoshop toolbars to cutting and pasting your lovable pet into the digital world, the possibilities of what technology can accomplish are endless.