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Show HN: ReRender AI - Realistic Architectural Renders for AutoCAD/Blender Users

50 points by eddieweng 3y ago

TonyBagODonuts 3y ago
Can we get this as an autocad addon?
- eddieweng 3y ago
  Perhaps later on. At the moment, we're focused on enhancing the product.
westurner 3y ago
Different but the same problem: "Generate a heat sink heat exchanger with maximum efficiency, shaped like a passive solar home" TIL from off-gridders and homesteaders about passive solar design so that the air moves through the home without HVAC (compared with high rise buildings where it is necessary to pump water up like a gravitational potential water tower.) Does ReRender AI have features for sustainable architecture? Prompt: "Design a passive solar high-rise building with maximal energy storage and production" Notes from "Zero energy ready homes are coming" (2023) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35064493 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35064493
- eddieweng 3y ago
  ReRender AI focuses on rendering, not sustainable design features. Architects must incorporate sustainability themselves. However, the AI can visually represent a passive solar high-rise if provided with the necessary design elements.
dangond 3y ago
What's the use case here? I assume a render with entirely different materials than will be present in the actual building is near useless for architects, but maybe I'm missing something?
- rapiz 3y ago
  Agree.Maybe users with sketch in their hand are more interested in using this tool. I'm not a designer but I suppose people using Blender/AutoCAD already know what material/style they want.
- jsheard 3y ago
  There's bigger problems than just materials, the renders invent whole architectural features that don't exist in the source material. Windows and doors appear out of nothing, ambiguous features are guessed arbitrarily, and some features that do exist in the source are ignored and smoothed over. It's the usual story with AI image generation where it's easy to get something vaguely presentable with a loose set of vibes, but the more specific you want the details to be the more of an uphill struggle it becomes to get what you want. And in this case the user probably already has a 3D model they can feed into a conventional renderer with the exact parameters they want. Another issue is that the user will probably want to produce multiple renders of the same building, but with AI it's extremely difficult to get consistent results. Again, not an issue with conventional approaches to rendering.
seu 3y ago
None of the renders from their examples look "photorealistic" to me, rather "sci-fi/cyberpunk themed, high contrasted, high-quality videogame renderer".
- seu 3y ago
  (I mean, their title is "Photorealistic Renders for Buildings")
  - eddieweng 3y ago
    Sure, hello! I'm in the process of enhancing the image's realism. Kindly allow me some additional time to achieve a more photorealistic result.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
KidComputer 3y ago
What additional benefit do you bring over just running ControlNet myself?
- speedgoose 3y ago
  It looks like it uses a neat custom model and it’s probably easier to setup.
villgax 3y ago
FreeCAD is in dire need of a UI overhaul. Either merge into blender or take up some RTX rendering chops from them!
canadiantim 3y ago
Can I take floor plans and get renders from just that? I'm just trying to design a home right now actually. Played with sketchup to assist, but I'm prly going to try and so sketches and use ai to render for me if that's viable. But being able to get realistic renders from just floor plans is the holy grail. Please let me know if this is viable at all with rerednerai Looks great tho, congrats
- reckless 3y ago
  I'd recommend Sweethome3D to trace the floorplan and then you can export it as a .obj to a program like Twinmotion to do visualisation and lighting with pathtracing etc.
  - canadiantim 3y ago
    That's a really awesome recommendation, thank you! I'll give that a go
- eddieweng 3y ago
  We're actively working on developing the ability for users to upload floor plans and have our system generate realistic renders. This feature is definitely part of our vision for the future of ReRender AI. Stay tuned for updates as we make progress in this direction!
GC_tris 3y ago
Really cool. Many years ago at university I got to play with a system built by a former student that took wood blocks (children's toys) to build structures on top of a table monitored by kinect cameras. It would then identify features and generate a floor plan. Now imagine combining this! It would allow for a whole new level of exploration of ideas. Can you share a bit what setup you use to generate the images? Do you run your own GPUs?
- eddieweng 3y ago
  Hi there! That university project sounds fascinating! Combining it with ReRender AI would indeed open up new possibilities for exploring ideas. As for my setup, I generate images using my own GPUs hosted on LambdaLabs, which I've found to be the most cost-effective solution.

50 points by eddieweng 3y ago

TonyBagODonuts 3y ago

Can we get this as an autocad addon?

eddieweng 3y ago
Perhaps later on. At the moment, we're focused on enhancing the product.

westurner 3y ago

Different but the same problem: "Generate a heat sink heat exchanger with maximum efficiency, shaped like a passive solar home" TIL from off-gridders and homesteaders about passive solar design so that the air moves through the home without HVAC (compared with high rise buildings where it is necessary to pump water up like a gravitational potential water tower.) Does ReRender AI have features for sustainable architecture? Prompt: "Design a passive solar high-rise building with maximal energy storage and production" Notes from "Zero energy ready homes are coming" (2023) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35064493 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35064493

eddieweng 3y ago
ReRender AI focuses on rendering, not sustainable design features. Architects must incorporate sustainability themselves. However, the AI can visually represent a passive solar high-rise if provided with the necessary design elements.

dangond 3y ago

What's the use case here? I assume a render with entirely different materials than will be present in the actual building is near useless for architects, but maybe I'm missing something?

rapiz 3y ago
Agree.Maybe users with sketch in their hand are more interested in using this tool. I'm not a designer but I suppose people using Blender/AutoCAD already know what material/style they want.
jsheard 3y ago
There's bigger problems than just materials, the renders invent whole architectural features that don't exist in the source material. Windows and doors appear out of nothing, ambiguous features are guessed arbitrarily, and some features that do exist in the source are ignored and smoothed over. It's the usual story with AI image generation where it's easy to get something vaguely presentable with a loose set of vibes, but the more specific you want the details to be the more of an uphill struggle it becomes to get what you want. And in this case the user probably already has a 3D model they can feed into a conventional renderer with the exact parameters they want. Another issue is that the user will probably want to produce multiple renders of the same building, but with AI it's extremely difficult to get consistent results. Again, not an issue with conventional approaches to rendering.

seu 3y ago

None of the renders from their examples look "photorealistic" to me, rather "sci-fi/cyberpunk themed, high contrasted, high-quality videogame renderer".

seu 3y ago
(I mean, their title is "Photorealistic Renders for Buildings")
- eddieweng 3y ago
  Sure, hello! I'm in the process of enhancing the image's realism. Kindly allow me some additional time to achieve a more photorealistic result.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

KidComputer 3y ago

What additional benefit do you bring over just running ControlNet myself?

speedgoose 3y ago
It looks like it uses a neat custom model and it’s probably easier to setup.

villgax 3y ago

FreeCAD is in dire need of a UI overhaul. Either merge into blender or take up some RTX rendering chops from them!

canadiantim 3y ago

Can I take floor plans and get renders from just that? I'm just trying to design a home right now actually. Played with sketchup to assist, but I'm prly going to try and so sketches and use ai to render for me if that's viable. But being able to get realistic renders from just floor plans is the holy grail. Please let me know if this is viable at all with rerednerai Looks great tho, congrats

reckless 3y ago
I'd recommend Sweethome3D to trace the floorplan and then you can export it as a .obj to a program like Twinmotion to do visualisation and lighting with pathtracing etc.
- canadiantim 3y ago
  That's a really awesome recommendation, thank you! I'll give that a go
eddieweng 3y ago
We're actively working on developing the ability for users to upload floor plans and have our system generate realistic renders. This feature is definitely part of our vision for the future of ReRender AI. Stay tuned for updates as we make progress in this direction!

GC_tris 3y ago

Really cool. Many years ago at university I got to play with a system built by a former student that took wood blocks (children's toys) to build structures on top of a table monitored by kinect cameras. It would then identify features and generate a floor plan. Now imagine combining this! It would allow for a whole new level of exploration of ideas. Can you share a bit what setup you use to generate the images? Do you run your own GPUs?

eddieweng 3y ago
Hi there! That university project sounds fascinating! Combining it with ReRender AI would indeed open up new possibilities for exploring ideas. As for my setup, I generate images using my own GPUs hosted on LambdaLabs, which I've found to be the most cost-effective solution.