Thursday, March 26th, 2020 Posted by Jim Thacker

Kraken Pro automatically sorts your messy 3D model library


TurboSquid has launched Kraken Pro, an interesting new cloud-based service for organising studios’ internal 3D model libraries, automatically generating tags, metadata and thumbnail images.

The AI-driven system is based on the tech TurboSquid uses to sort models in its own online marketplace.

AI-driven system automatically sorts and renders thumbnail images for 3ds Max and Maya assets
Although Kraken originally rolled out last year as a service for enterprise-level organisations, Kraken Pro is aimed at somewhat smaller studios: subscriptions provide access for up to 50 users.

Firms either upload their internal model collections to the cloud, or provide them on hard drives, with Kraken’s AI-based sorting tool generating tags, metadata, and rendering thumbnail previews.

The system currently supports 3ds Max and Maya and common third-party render engines, including Arnold, Corona Renderer and V-Ray, with support for Cinema 4D planned.

As well as tagging models by format, the system generates tags based on content – the demo image shows models of vehicles categorised by type – and whether an asset is rigged or animated.

Metadata generated includes polygon count, material count and the model’s dimensions.

Artists at the studio can then search models in the cloud or group them into custom collections, and share download links both internally and with external collaborators.

A ‘magical’ solution for sorting large sets of 3D models generated at arch viz and VFX studios?
According to TurboSquid, the AI system that powers the Kraken’s sorting tool was trained using a “large amount of content” from its own 800,000-model online marketplace.

The firm is also “continually retraining the system as we process more 3D libraries from customers”.

It uses “every available source from a model” to generate tags, including “image recognition, texture names, object names, material, layers and the file name”.

TurboSquid told us that its output requires little manual clean-up: thumbnails “look great and are clear in almost every case”, although its staff do some “categorisation curation before delivery”.

Users can also edit tags for any miscategorised content they discover.

“Our 3D artists don’t have time to worry about being librarians: they need to find content quickly,” said Carlos Cristerna, principal of architectural visualisation agency Neoscape.

“We handed [TurboSquid] terabytes of models and they came back to us magically tagged, organised and categorised, with metadata and clean thumbnails.”

Pricing and availability
Kraken Pro is a subscription-only service. Prices start at $599/month for 10,000 models and 50 users.

Read more about Kraken Pro on the product website