Facebook touts groundbreaking app AI that powers artistic Live video filters

Facebook is betting on video filters (the graphics pioneered by Snapchat that can be overlaid on faces in recorded clips) to get more users hooked on its live-streaming tool. Having already demoed its upcoming style transfer graphics (artistic filters that draw from the style of famous painters to transform videos into works of art), it is now offering more details about the artificial intelligence powering its new mobile tools.

Instead of Snapchat, the inspiration for these Live video filters comes from Prisma — an AI-powered photography app that boasts a range of artistic graphics that can be applied to both images and video. Facebook is currently testing style transfers as part of an update that gives added prominence to your smartphone camera within its flagship app in Ireland.

Unlike Snapchat (the app that pioneered filters or, as it calls them, “lenses”), Facebook wants to apply the software to live broadcasts in real time and not after you’ve captured a clip. It’s already started doing this with some of its traditional, Snapchat-style filters, but style transfers are — according to Facebook — its crowning achievement.

More: Facebook’s first Live Video ad campaign encourages you to stream everyday life

On Tuesday, the company published a new blog post explaining in-depth how the style transfer technique works in real-time. Instead of waiting for the image to be processed on huge computer servers in data centers, Facebook claims it has developed a world-first: a deep-learning platform on mobile that puts the cutting-edge technology in the palm of a user’s hand.

Facebook is essentially embedding its neural network (a machine learning system, loosely modelled on the human brain, that learns by consuming vast tons of data) into its Facebook app for iOS and Android. The company terms this deep learning AI “Caffe2Go,” describing it as a lightweight and modular framework built on top of the open-source “Caffe2” project — meaning it won’t drain your mobile device. Facebook is also optimizing style transfer tech, allowing it to be applied to video running at 20 frames per second on an iPhone 6S or above without a drop in picture quality.

Read full article at https://www.yahoo.com/tech/facebook-borrows-prisma-planned-live-020022885.html

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