At its MAX conference, Adobe officially launched Project Stardust, a next-generation AI-powered photo-editing engine that has been making waves since its early leak this month. Powered by the Firefly Model 2, which is also launching today, Stardust enables users to easily delete objects and people in a scene, change backgrounds, and more.
A Sneak Peek into Adobe’s Future Plans
While Project Stardust is being touted as a sneak preview of what’s to come from Adobe, it’s essential to note that this is not a final product. Rather, it’s a public preview of some of the technologies that the company is working on behind the scenes. However, given the existing Firefly-based AI tools and their integration into Stardust, we can expect to see more of this in the near future.
How Project Stardust Works
Project Stardust combines Adobe’s object recognition models with existing AI-powered features like generative fill (which ensures that once an object is moved, something takes its place). In many ways, it’s similar to what Google is trying to achieve with its Magic Editor on Android. Both tools aim to make image editing work seem effortless.
A Live Demo of Project Stardust
During a live demo of the service, Adobe’s director of product management for Project Stardust demonstrated how users can upload their own photos or have Firefly create one. The AI then automatically analyzes the image in the background and creates layers for the various objects it finds. From there, moving things around is simply a matter of dragging and dropping, with the AI tools filling in the blanks.
Adding New Objects to a Scene
Just like in Photoshop today, it’s easy enough to add new objects to a scene using Project Stardust. The service provides four different options for every prompt, ensuring that users have a range of creative possibilities at their fingertips. With over a dozen different AI models at work to power Stardust’s various features, the possibilities are endless.
The Future of Image Editing
It’s clear that technology is moving quickly in this space. Even the demo I witnessed didn’t feel particularly groundbreaking – it was more a matter of seeing how far we’ve come. With Google already demonstrating similar capabilities (if not actually releasing them), the discussion has shifted from being wowed by the tech to what this means for photography in the long run.
What’s Next for Project Stardust?
While Project Stardust is currently just a public preview, it’s likely that we’ll see more of this technology in the near future. Adobe is clearly committed to pushing the boundaries of AI-powered photo editing, and with the Firefly Model 2 launching today, there are plenty of exciting developments on the horizon.
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About the Author
Frederic Lardinois is a seasoned journalist and editor who has been covering the tech industry for over a decade. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley and has written for numerous publications, including ReadWriteWeb (now ReadWrite) and SiliconFilter.