Summary of IKEA's Journey Through 3D Visualization and Spatial Computing By Martin Enthed

00:00:00 - 00:25:00

In the YouTube video " IKEA 's Journey Through 3D Visualization and Spatial Computing," Martin Enthed, an IKEA team member, discusses the company's 15-year journey in 3D visualization, which began with creating 3D models of products in 2006. IKEA, with a turnover of approximately 48 billion EUR and 220,000 employees worldwide, sells 75% of its products online and 25% in stores. The company has built a 3D model bank containing about 60,000 high-resolution models of their products, allowing for efficient product searches. IKEA's commitment to creating detailed 3D models with up to 20,000 definitions per meter or 0.05 mm accuracy is driven by human perception and high-resolution displays. IKEA has been exploring spatial computing since 2017, aiming to give customers a 3D representation of products directly, and has completed over 350 projects in this area. They also transform advertising images into deep learning training data using 3D modeling, enabling users to walk around virtual objects and transfer information about their products into customers' living situations with minimal cognitive load. IKEA's goal is to be the best at using this technology at scale and contribute to room understanding by creating synthetic training data.

• 00:00:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "IKEA's Journey Through 3D Visualization and Spatial Computing," Martin Enthed, an IKEA team member, discusses the company's 3D visualization journey, which began in 2006 with the render equation. IKEA's goal was to create well-designed, functional home furnishing products that are affordable for many people. With a turnover of approximately 48 billion EUR and 220,000 employees worldwide, IKEA sells 75% of its products online and 25% in stores. The 3D journey started with creating 3D models of products, which began with a simple B model in 2006. In 2009, IKEA produced the first 3D room, and in 2016, they started creating animations and films. To create these large-scale productions, IKEA built a 3D model bank containing about 60,000 high-resolution models of their products, along with textures and materials. This allowed them to efficiently search for specific products and materials. IKEA's 3D visualization process involves creating models for all products, even those not sold, to demonstrate their functionality. This includes creating textures for food, folding towels, and growing plants. The process began internally in 2009 and was completed in 2012, with some products being added later.
• 00:05:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "IKEA's Journey Through 3D Visualization and Spatial Computing By Martin Enthed," Martin Enthed discusses IKEA's use of high-resolution 3D assets for product rendering, which requires significant computational power. IKEA has a render farm with about 3.5 thousand CPU cores and uses the same pipeline for rendering and real-time 3D model conversion. They also have an on-demand render capacity in the cloud for producing still pictures and animations. IKEA's use of 3D has been steadily increasing since 2005, with the addition of 3D planning tools online and the integration of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences. IKEA started using AR in 2012, using their catalog as a marker, and transitioned to ARCore and ARKit in 2017. In 2016, they created their first XR or VR experience. They have been working to create physically correct 3D assets for all their products, which can be challenging due to the variety of products they offer.
• 00:10:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "IKEA's Journey Through 3D Visualization and Spatial Computing," Martin Enthed discusses IKEA's commitment to creating detailed 3D models of their products with increasing accuracy since 2009. IKEA currently uses assets with up to 20,000 definitions per meter or 0.05 mm accuracy to handle human perception and high-resolution displays. Enthed also mentions the challenge of creating standards for long-lasting products and IKEA's involvement in organizations like Kronos and the Alliance for Open USD to standardize 3D commerce and material definition. IKEA's interest in surface appearance and material X is also highlighted as a potential contribution to the industry.
• 00:15:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "IKEA's Journey Through 3D Visualization and Spatial Computing," Martin Enthed shares a personal experience from December 2014 when he tried on an early VR headset for the first time. He was impressed by the ability to walk around in a virtual environment without feeling motion sick and the similarity between the virtual and real-life versions of chairs they examined. Enthed also discussed how the brain processes visual information, explaining that it interprets and changes the input to make sense of the image. He mentioned that humans only see the world with high resolution in a small area around the center of their vision, and the rest is filled in by the brain. This discovery led to the development of a cursor feature in newer headsets, allowing users to see where others are looking. Overall, Enthed's experience with this early VR technology sparked his interest in learning more about the human brain and its role in processing three-dimensional visual information.
• 00:20:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "IKEA's Journey Through 3D Visualization and Spatial Computing," Martin Enthed discusses the future of spatial computing and how IKEA is preparing for it. He explains that up until now, companies have relied on customers to create a 3D representation of their products in their minds by looking at pictures and deducing from shadows and lighting. However, IKEA aims to give customers a 3D representation directly by creating devices that understand three-dimensional space and can provide data back into that space. This technology, known as spatial computing, will allow customers to interact with virtual products in their home environment, understanding the space and its limitations, and even sharing the experience with others in real-time. IKEA started exploring spatial computing in 2017 and has since completed over 350 projects, but due to confidentiality, only two can be shared. The first project involved moving a virtual sofa through a corridor, and the second project focused on collaborative AR planning with multiple people. IKEA sees potential in contributing to room understanding by creating synthetic training data, as they have access to a wealth of information about rooms and how products interact with them.
• 00:25:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "IKEA's Journey Through 3D Visualization and Spatial Computing," Martin Enthed discusses how IKEA transforms advertising images into deep learning training data using 3D modeling. By rendering 3D models, IKEA can create movement and enable users to walk around the virtual objects. Annotating 3D models is faster and more efficient than annotating real-world objects. IKEA's goal is to transfer information about their well-designed furniture products into customers' living situations with minimal cognitive load. They aim to be the best at using this technology at scale and invite collaboration to achieve their vision of making a better everyday life for the many people. IKEA does not sell hardware or software but wants to focus on using the technology effectively. Their founder's Swedish saying, "Things still remain to be done," emphasizes the exciting future ahead.