NC AI unveils VARCO 3D 2.0 with 40.8% improvement in shape preservation

NC AI has unveiled VARCO 3D 2.0, a next-generation 3D generative AI model, as the company moves to strengthen its position in the content production and industrial 3D data markets. The new model reduces the shape distortion that has long limited 3D generative AI and supports textures at resolutions up to 4K.

NC AI said Wednesday it has completed development of version 2.0 of VARCO 3D, its AI service that generates 3D assets from images and text.

The model is set to be integrated into the VARCO 3D software-as-a-service platform in July.

VARCO 3D 2.0 incorporates user feedback accumulated since the service launched in December last year, along with the company's own research findings. The model focuses on preserving the silhouette and proportions of input images while retaining decorative elements and fine structural details. NC AI said it can render structurally complex objects — including characters, creatures and architectural structures — as 3D models while staying true to the original design intent.

Performance metrics also improved. VARCO 3D 2.0 scored 0.449 on Uni3D, a leading shape-similarity benchmark, up roughly 40.8% from the 0.319 recorded by version 1.1. NC AI said the new model outperformed major global open-source models including Trellis2, Ultrashape and Hunyuan3D 2.1.

Texture quality has also been enhanced. VARCO 3D 2.0 supports textures up to 4K resolution and reproduces the color and material properties of source images, including surface textures for materials such as metal and wood, as well as fine surface patterns and wear effects. The company aims to produce 3D assets at a quality level suitable for game and video content production.

NC AI plans to expand VARCO 3D's applications into physical AI and digital twin domains. Physical AI systems require 3D data and virtual environments that reflect the shape and physical properties of real-world objects in order to understand and learn from physical space. Demand for high-quality 3D data is also growing across industrial sectors including manufacturing, construction and defense.

VARCO 3D is designed to generate 3D assets in as little as three minutes — work that previously took specialists weeks to complete — cutting both production time and cost. NC AI said the model also carries significance in terms of data security and AI technology self-reliance, as it is built on proprietary domestic technology.

"VARCO 3D 2.0 will improve the working environment for content creators by enhancing shape fidelity and texture expressiveness," said Lee Yeon-su, CEO of NC AI. "We will develop it into core infrastructure for the era of physical AI and digital twins, grounded in our own AI technology."

Meanwhile, NC AI has been shifting its technology focus away from the general-purpose large-scale AI race and toward industry-specific AI and physical AI. The company is broadening its technology portfolio with the generative AI platform VARCO, the multimodal model VAETKI, a world foundation model and a robot foundation model.

rim@heraldcorp.com