Pixal3D
Pixal3D is a state-of-the-art image-based 3D asset generation solution developed by Tencent ARC Lab and released in May 2026. It can simultaneously reconstruct high-resolution geometric meshes and realistic textures from a single 2D image. This system uses Microsoft's next-generation O-Voxel-based 4B parameter framework, the TRELLIS.2 Flow-matching Transformer architecture, as its backbone, enabling it to represent complex physically-based rendering (PBR) materials and stereoscopic images that were difficult for previous models to handle.
Pixal3D is a state-of-the-art image-based 3D asset generation solution developed by Tencent ARC Lab and released in May 2026. It can simultaneously reconstruct high-resolution geometric meshes and realistic textures from a single 2D image. This system utilizes Microsoft's next-generation O-Voxel-based 4B parameter framework, the TRELLIS.2 Flow-matching Transformer architecture, as its backbone, enabling it to rapidly generate complex physically-based rendering (PBR) materials and intricate topological structures that were previously difficult for existing models to represent. Notably, by fully open-sourcing the entire training code, data pre-processing pipeline, and all weights for local inference and web demos under a complete MIT license, it supports researchers and developers in leveraging the latest 3D vision infrastructure and freely building custom pipelines without license restrictions.
Conventional image-to-3D generation methods typically generate 3D shapes in a canonical space and indirectly inject 2D image information through cross-attention, resulting in a significant limitation where the accurate pixel mapping (Pixel-to-3D correspondence) between the 2D input image and the 3D shape is inconsistent. To illustrate, if existing 3D generators are like virtual sculptors who glance at a 2D photograph of an object and rely on their memory to mold clay, then Pixal3D is like a meticulous restorer who fixes the original photograph tightly behind a transparent glass plate and traces the pixels' outlines and textures, leaving marks on the three-dimensional surface. Pixal3D designs a Pixel Back-projection Conditioning technique to directly define the 3D space in a way that completely matches the input view, thereby achieving high-precision pixel alignment, where the generated result perfectly overlaps with the input 2D image, ensuring a level of precision that approaches actual reconstruction.
In the fields of biotechnology and bio-image analysis, Pixal3D is used as a digitization tool to instantly convert 2D stereoscopic images and projected images into 3D stereoscopic shapes for research purposes. When a single transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image or a complex biological tissue section image, captured in a sterile experimental animal or micro-analysis device environment, is input into this engine, a 3D mesh file with geometric stereoscopic curvature and surface texture is rapidly and automatically generated. These outputs can be combined with multi-view data to be processed into high-resolution volumetric data at the cellular level, or directly transferred to biological visualization software such as Blender and PyMOL, and can be used as a key source for analyzing the structural interactions of cell membrane organelles, outputting educational stereoscopic printing assets, or designing structural models for research on drug complex binding interfaces.
💻 System Requirements
NVIDIA GPU minimum 12GB (RTX 3060 12GB/RTX 4070 or higher), recommended 24GB or higher (enables smooth inference and optimization on high VRAM cards such as RTX 4090 / A100)
A minimum of 10GB is required, including model weights and dependency packages (including CUDA kernel builds).
⚡ Installation
4-1. Quick Start
git clone https://github.com/TencentARC/Pixal3D.git cd Pixal3D pip install -r requirements.txt
4-2. Detailed Installation
1. Create and activate virtual environmentconda create -n pixal3d python=3.10 -y conda activate pixal3d
2. Install PyTorch and the CUDA toolkit (CUDA 12.1 recommended)pip install torch torchvision --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu121
3. Install the required third-party libraries and build NATTEN Set NATTEN_CUDA_ARCH according to hardware specificationsexport NATTEN_CUDA_ARCH="89" # RTX 40xx series (e.g., 89) pip install natten==0.21.0 --no-build-isolation
4. Install utils3d in the Storages releasepip install https://github.com/LDYang694/Storages/releases/download/20260430/utils3d-0.0.2-py3-none-any.whl
5. Clone and install the Pixal3D repositorygit clone https://github.com/TencentARC/Pixal3D.git cd Pixal3D pip install -r requirements.txt
🧬 Bio Use Cases
3D Reconstruction of Cellular Organelles from a Single Microscopy Image
Input a single 1024x1024 resolution 2D transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image of mitochondria. Using Pixal3D's inverse projection algorithm and the TRELLIS.2 backbone, generate a 3D mesh on the GPU within 3-5 seconds. The generated OBJ mesh can be combined with Blender and PyMOL to support cell membrane curvature measurement, volume analysis, and the creation of 3D printing educational materials.
3D Spatial Visualization of Structural Protein Cryo-EM 2D Projection Images
Set the high-contrast 2D class average images of protein complexes acquired through Cryo-EM as a single-view input. Run Pixal3D's pixel matching inference weights to derive a PBR-textured 3D spatial mesh. When combined with biological tools such as UCSF ChimeraX, it enhances the intuitive understanding of the spatial arrangement of high-resolution protein tertiary binding domains.
Generation of 3D Prototypes for Medical Devices and Clinical Micro-Catheters
Input a single 2D clinical catheter design rendering image into the Pixal3D web demo system. Optimize the flow matching algorithm (applying Trellis.2 inference parameters) to obtain a high-resolution 3D CAD-compatible asset within 5 seconds. Output in STL format, then precisely measure the fine helix pitch and outer diameter error in CAD software and immediately apply it to simulations.
FAQ
What is Pixal3D?
Pixal3D is a state-of-the-art image-based 3D asset generation solution developed by Tencent ARC Lab and released in May 2026. It can simultaneously reconstruct high-resolution geometric meshes and realistic textures from a single 2D image. This system utilizes Microsoft's next-generation O-Voxel-based 4B parameter framework, the TRELLIS.2 Flow-matching Transformer architecture, as its backbone, enabling it to rapidly generate complex physically-based rendering (PBR) materials and intricate topological structures that were previously difficult for existing models to represent. Notably, by fully open-sourcing the entire training code, data pre-processing pipeline, and all weights for local inference and web demos under a complete MIT license, it supports researchers and developers in leveraging the latest 3D vision infrastructure and freely building custom pipelines without license restrictions. Conventional image-to-3D generation methods typically generate 3D shapes in a canonical space and indirectly inject 2D image information through cross-attention, resulting in a significant limitation where the accurate pixel mapping (Pixel-to-3D correspondence) between the 2D input image and the 3D shape is inconsistent. To illustrate, if existing 3D generators are like virtual sculptors who glance at a 2D photograph of an object and rely on their memory to mold clay, then Pixal3D is like a meticulous restorer who fixes the original photograph tightly behind a transparent glass plate and traces the pixels' outlines and textures, leaving marks on the three-dimensional surface. Pixal3D designs a Pixel Back-projection Conditioning technique to directly define the 3D space in a way that completely matches the input view, thereby achieving high-precision pixel alignment, where the generated result perfectly overlaps with the input 2D image, ensuring a level of precision that approaches actual reconstruction. In the fields of biotechnology and bio-image analysis, Pixal3D is used as a digitization tool to instantly convert 2D stereoscopic images and projected images into 3D stereoscopic shapes for research purposes. When a single transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image or a complex biological tissue section image, captured in a sterile experimental animal or micro-analysis device environment, is input into this engine, a 3D mesh file with geometric stereoscopic curvature and surface texture is rapidly and automatically generated. These outputs can be combined with multi-view data to be processed into high-resolution volumetric data at the cellular level, or directly transferred to biological visualization software such as Blender and PyMOL, and can be used as a key source for analyzing the structural interactions of cell membrane organelles, outputting educational stereoscopic printing assets, or designing structural models for research on drug complex binding interfaces.
When should I use Pixal3D?
Pixal3D is a state-of-the-art image-based 3D asset generation solution developed by Tencent ARC Lab and released in May 2026. It can simultaneously reconstruct high-resolution geometric meshes and realistic textures from a single 2D image. This system uses Microsoft's next-generation O-Voxel-based 4B parameter framework, the TRELLIS.2 Flow-matching Transformer architecture, as its backbone, enabling it to represent complex physically-based rendering (PBR) materials and stereoscopic images that were difficult for previous models to handle.
What is a biomedical use case for Pixal3D?
3D Reconstruction of Cellular Organelles from a Single Microscopy Image: Input a single 1024x1024 resolution 2D transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image of mitochondria. Using Pixal3D's inverse projection algorithm and the TRELLIS.2 backbone, generate a 3D mesh on the GPU within 3-5 seconds. The generated OBJ mesh can be combined with Blender and PyMOL to support cell membrane curvature measurement, volume analysis, and the creation of 3D printing educational materials.
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