So, what is real and what is added realism? We also thought it was worth noting, briefly, that the words, copyright or intellectual property are not found in this announcement. We also have a new word for your vocabulary, photoswap. Keep reading and feel free to share with your favorite journalists and photojournalists. Interesting reading follows.

Computer graphics researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed systems for editing or altering photographs using segments of the millions of images available on the Web…We are able to leverage the huge amounts of visual information available on the Internet to find images that make the best fit,” said Alexei A. Efros, assistant professor of computer science and robotics. “It’s not applicable for all photo editing, such as when an image of a specific object or person is added to a photo. But it’s good enough in many cases,” he added. “Why Photoshop if you can ‘photoswap’ instead”

Databases and Demos:
++ Photo Clip Art

++ LabelMe

++ Scene Completion
Where does this database get imagery?

It draws upon millions of photos from the Flickr Web site to fill in holes in photos. Some of the holes might be from damage to a physical photograph, but more often they are created when an editor cuts out part of an image to eliminate an unsightly truck from a picturesque street scene, or removing a passerby from a group shot of friends. Photo editors often try to fill in those holes with sections derived elsewhere in the same image, but Efros said that a better match can often be found in a different photo.

Much more in this media release.

Source: CMU and EurekaAlert
Thanks to Pete Weiss for the news tip.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 11th, 2007 and is filed under Arts and Humanities, Databases, Directories, and Guides, Information Industry, Intellectual Property, Search News, Software and Web-Based Applications, Technology and Internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.