
3D content creators are clamoring for NVIDIA Instant NeRF, an inverse rendering tool that turns a set of static images into a realistic 3D scene.
Since its debut earlier this year, tens of thousands of developers around the world have downloaded the source code and used it to render spectacular scenes, sharing eye-catching results on social media.
The research behind Instant NeRF is being honored as a best paper at SIGGRAPH - which runs Aug. 8-11 in Vancouver and online - for its contribution to the future of computer graphics research. One of just five papers selected for this award, it's among 17 papers and workshops with NVIDIA authors that are being presented at the conference, covering topics spanning neural rendering, 3D simulation, holography and more.
NVIDIA recently held an Instant NeRF sweepstakes, asking developers to share 3D scenes created with the software for a chance to win a high-end NVIDIA GPU. Hundreds participated, posting 3D scenes of landmarks like Stonehenge, their backyards and even their pets.
Among the creators using Instant NeRF are:
Through the Looking Glass: Karen X. Cheng and James Perlman San Francisco-based creative director Karen X. Cheng is working with software engineer James Perlman to render 3D scenes that test the boundaries of what Instant NeRF can create.
The duo has used Instant NeRF to create scenes that explore reflections within a mirror (shown above) and handle complex environments with multiple people - like a group enjoying ramen at a restaurant.
The algorithm itself is groundbreaking - the fact that you can render a physical scene with higher fidelity than normal photogrammetry techniques is just astounding, Perlman said. It's incredible how accurately you can reconstruct lighting, color differences or other tiny details.
It even makes mistakes look artistic, said Cheng. We really lean into that, and play with training a scene less sometimes, experimenting with 1,000, or 5,000 or 50,000 iterations. Sometimes I'll prefer the ones trained less because the edges are softer and you get an oil-painting effect.
Using prior tools, it would take them three or four days to train a decent-quality scene. With Instant NeRF, the pair can churn out about 20 a day, using an NVIDIA RTX A6000 GPU to render, train and preview their 3D scenes.
With rapid rendering comes faster iteration.
Being able to render quickly is very necessary for the creative process. We'd meet up and shoot 15 or 20 different versions, run them overnight and then see what's working, said Cheng. Everything we've published has been shot and reshot a dozen times, which is only possible when you can run several scenes a day.
Preserving Moments in Time: Hugues Bruy re Hugues Bruy re, partner and chief of innovation at Dpt., a Montreal-based creative studio, uses Instant NeRF daily.
3D captures have always been of strong interest to me because I can go back to those volumetric reconstructions and move in them, adding an extra dimension of meaning to them, he said.
Bruy re rendered 3D scenes with Instant NeRF using the data he'd previously captured for traditional photogrammetry relying on mirrorless digital cameras, smartphones, 360 cameras and drones. He uses an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 GPU to render his Instant NeRF scenes.
Bruy re believes Instant NeRF could be a powerful tool to help preserve and share cultural artifacts through online libraries, museums, virtual-reality experiences and heritage-conservation projects.
The aspect of capturing itself is being democratized, as camera and software solutions become cheaper, he said. In a few months or years, people will be able to capture objects, places, moments and memories and have them volumetrically rendered in real time, shareable and preserved forever.
Using pictures taken with a smartphone, Bruy re created an Instant NeRF render of an ancient marble statue of Zeus from an exhibition at Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum.
Stepping Into Remote Scenes: Jonathan Stephens Jonathan Stephens, chief evangelist for spatial computing company EveryPoint, has been exploring Instant NeRF for both creative and practical applications.
EveryPoint reconstructs 3D scenes such as stockpiles, railyards and quarries to help businesses manage their resources. With Instant NeRF, Stephens can capture a scene more completely, allowing clients to freely explore a scene. He uses an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU to run scenes rendered with Instant NeRF.
What I really like about Instant NeRF is that you quickly know if your render is working, Stephens said. With a large photogrammetry set, you could be waiting hours or days. Here, I can test out a bunch of different datasets and know within minutes.
He's also experimented with making NeRFs using footage from lightweight devices like smart glasses. Instant NeRF could turn the low-resolution, bumpy footage from Stephens walking down the street into a smooth 3D scene.
Find NVIDIA at SIGGRAPH Tune in for a special address by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and other senior leaders on Tuesday, Aug. 9, at 9 a.m. PT to hear about the research and technology behind AI-powered virtual worlds.
NVIDIA is also presenting a score of in-person and virtual sessions for SIGGRAPH attendees, including:
The Next Evolution of Universal Scene Description (USD) for Building Virtual Worlds
Real-Time Collaboration in Ray-Traced VR
Meet the Researchers: How to Use NVIDIA Kaolin in Your 3D Deep Learning Workflows
The Future of Extended Reality: How Immersion Will Change Everything
Learn how to create with Instant NeRF in the hands-on demo, NVIDIA Instant NeRF - Getting Started With Neural Radiance Fields. Instant NeRF will also be part of SIGGRAPH's Real-Time Live showcase - where in-person attendees can vote for a winning project.
For more interactive sessions
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
21/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/08/2026
When hundreds of thousands of people gather to hear a single voice, there is no room for compromise. Every word must be delivered clearly, every wireless transm...
21/08/2026
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced a strategic partnership with ScorePlay, the AI-powered media infrastructure that spo...
21/08/2026
NUGEN Audio announces the launch of its new Post Plan and Producer Plan, two flexible subscription offerings designed to give audio professionals short term acc...
21/08/2026
Join the Screen Currency 2026 Ask Me Anything (AMA) Online 20 August 2026
(L-R): Adrian Coates, Grainne Brunsdon, Deirdre Brennan, Rachael Perkins
Got questio...
20/08/2026
From host-broadcaster and rightsholder support in June and July to MLS, NWSL, US...
20/08/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
20/08/2026
At IBC this year, Veritone (14.A56) is bringing two connected themes to the booth: architectural independence in enterprise AI, and the automation of the media ...
20/08/2026
Telestream and ScorePlay have announced a partnership combining Telestream's...
20/08/2026
The Grand Slam of Curling and Rock League have announced a three-year agreement with ESPN, bringing more than 300 hours of live curling coverage to U.S. audienc...
20/08/2026
Nielsen has announced a series of enhancements to its Big Data + Panel currency measurement methodology, taking effect August 31. The updates were developed in ...
20/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected by service provider Big Blue Marble (formerly ORS Group) to provide its Nimbra platform as the core media transport solution for a...
20/08/2026
The 2026 US Open will bring a series of free fan activations across New York City ahead of and during the tournament, which runs August 23-September 13.
We...
20/08/2026
Bridge Technologies will announce a transport stream (TS) playout feature for its VB330 and VB220 compressed monitoring probes at IBC2026 (Booth 1.A71).
The fe...
20/08/2026
ENCO will demonstrate solutions across captioning, translation, AI production tools, automation, and virtual production at IBC2026 (Stand 7.A34, Amsterdam RAI, ...
20/08/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will demonstrate camera robotics and mot...
20/08/2026
Chyron will demonstrate news workflow solutions at IBC2026 (Stand 7.A23), marking the company's 60th anniversary. Highlights include updates to PRIME HTML, ...
20/08/2026
Spectrum SportsNet LA, the exclusive television home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is now available to Spectrum customers in former Cox markets following the clos...
20/08/2026
swXtch.io will unveil expanded Global SRT Distribution and native multicast tran...
20/08/2026
Riedel Communications has announced that Transformation Church in the United States has deployed a communications system built around the Artist intercom ecosys...
20/08/2026
The bestselling author and longtime Apple observer explores how product launches...
20/08/2026
The Orlando Magic entered last season with a dramatically upgraded in-venue prod...
20/08/2026
Pacers Sports and Entertainment has announced a partnership with DAZN, making it the exclusive streaming home of Indiana Pacers basketball. A team-branded strea...
20/08/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
20/08/2026
The NHL has announced two major developments tied to its Germany growth strategy...
20/08/2026
Set up your own private remote collaboration infrastructure
SoundBridge have recently put together a tutorial video that provides users with a step-by-step ...
20/08/2026
New V-Control Pro features restore basic functionality
Neyrinck's V-Control software has long been keeping older Avid control surfaces compatible with n...
20/08/2026
TV, BritBox and Mammoth Screen have announced that filming is now underway on th...
20/08/2026
New York August 19, 2026 Nielsen today shared a number of key enhancements t...
20/08/2026
New Gracenote Data Hub analysis finds sports program titles up 31.2% and individ...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
At IBC, Profuz Digital will showcase at stand 8.A88 the SubtitleNEXT platform delivering innovative AI transcription integrations and stunning new features boos...
20/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Transformation Church, one of the fastest-growing and most influential digital ministries in the United States, has d...
20/08/2026
QuickLink Showcases New 4K Capabilities Across StudioEdge and StudioCall at IBC ...
20/08/2026
The Boys Season Five Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton August 20, 2026
0 Comments
Colorist Siggy Ferstl uses Depth Map to bring a three ...
20/08/2026
Adobe Firefly expands its creative AI studio: generate music, speech, and sound ...
20/08/2026
Multiview available via SaaS for streaming platforms and operators through broadpeak.io, with live demonstrations at IBC2026
Broadpeak , a leader in streaming ...
20/08/2026
Techex, a leading provider of live broadcast infrastructure solutions, has appointed Stuart Almond as Chief Revenue Officer, further strengthening its executive...
20/08/2026
Avid today announced that MediaCity Studios has upgraded its production infrastructure with an enhanced end-to-end Avid production ecosystem, including the dep...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...