Pictures are worth a thousand words. Not only do they show us all that was happening, it gives you a sense of actually being there. As far as we know, photos are meant to be still but it looks like 2021 is the year to change it all.
Many of us never had a chance to see our grandparents or other older relatives and all we have is photos to remind us of them. With that in mind, scientists have developed an AI-powered service called Deep Nostalgia. The service animates still photos bringing your pictures to life.
My Heritage Feature Brings Photos To Life
In a recent post, My Heritage (a global company that helps discover family history) announced that they added a new feature to their website. They call it Deep Nostalgia. It essentially animates your still photo and gives it aspects of movement as seen below.
“It makes me so happy to see him smile again!" Try our new #DeepNostalgia #PhotoAnimation feature for yourself and prepare to be AMAZED!!! https://t.co/p3h600G3MX pic.twitter.com/YdAn9IxyW0
— MyHeritage (@MyHeritage) February 28, 2021
How It Works
It’s like the iOS Live Photos feature, which adds a few seconds of video to help smartphone photographers find the best shot. However, Deep Nostalgia can take photos from any camera and bring them to ‘life’.
The program uses pre-recorded driver videos of facial movements and applies the one that works best for the still photo in question. Its intended purpose is to allow you to upload photos of deceased loved ones and see them in “action,” which seems like a crazy idea.
For instance in the tweet above, they took a picture of an old relative and animated it. It made the user happy as they were excited to see their loved one ‘smile’ again.
The animations move your head, mouth and eyes making you nod your head, smile and even blink. Crazy. I know. You can try it for yourself here. Just upload a photo and let the magic happen.
In my opinion, the videos look way to weird to use it on people that are’nt here anymore. The AI needs some tweaking, however, be ready for an experience of a life time.
oh my! @MyHeritage has created such an extraordinary photo animation tool. Here is my grandmother! I have clients waiting for work today, how can I tear myself away from this and from #RootsTechConnect pic.twitter.com/op6cMjcXXH
— Nicole Lascelle (@pedigreetales) February 25, 2021
**The site’s FAQ says it does not provide the photos to any third parties, and on its main page a message reads “photos uploaded without completing signup are automatically deleted to protect your privacy.”
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