Humans see in 3D because we have two eyes (stereoscopic vision). Cameras usually have one lens, so they flatten the world into a 2D plane. But what if you could recover that lost 3D information?
The Depth Map Generator uses Artificial Intelligence to predict the distance of every pixel in an image. It creates a "Depth Map": a grayscale image where:
- White = Close to the camera (Near).
- Black = Far from the camera (Far).
How the AI Works (Monocular Depth Estimation)
Our tool uses a model called MiDaS (trained by Intel/ETH Zurich). This model has looked at millions of pairs of 3D movies and stereo images. It has learned cues like:
- Perspective: Parallel lines converge at the horizon.
- Size: Smaller objects are likely further away.
- Occlusion: If object A blocks object B, A is closer.
It processes your uploaded JPG/PNG and infers a surprisingly accurate depth map, even though it only sees a flat image.
Use Cases
1. Facebook 3D Photos
Facebook allows you to post "3D Photos" that move when you scroll or tilt your phone. To create a custom one, you need two files:
image.jpg(Your original photo)image_depth.jpg(The depth map created by this tool)
Upload both, and Facebook combines them into an interactive 3D scene.
2. Parallax Web Effects
Web developers use depth maps to create "Parallax" effects where the background moves slower than the foreground, creating an illusion of depth on a landing page.
3. Fog and Bokeh (Depth of Field)
In photo editing (Photoshop), you can use the depth map as a layer mask to apply blur only to the background ("Artificial Bokeh") or add fog that gets denser the further back it goes.