# RenderGAN: Generating Realistic Labeled Data

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1611.01331 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.01331/

## Key facts

- Cited by 20 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 4 Nov 2016.

## Built on by (most cited first, 20 of 20)

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- [Knowledge-Guided Data-Centric AI in Healthcare: Progress, Shortcomings, and Future Directions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.13591/) (2022)
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- [InAugment: Improving Classifiers via Internal Augmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.03843/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Deep Convolutional Neuronal Networks (DCNNs) are showing remarkable performance on many computer vision tasks. Due to their large parameter space, they require many labeled samples when trained in a supervised setting. The costs of annotating data manually can render the use of DCNNs infeasible. We present a novel framework called RenderGAN that can generate large amounts of realistic, labeled images by combining a 3D model and the Generative Adversarial Network framework. In our approach, image augmentations (e.g. lighting, background, and detail) are learned from unlabeled data such that the generated images are strikingly realistic while preserving the labels known from the 3D model. We apply the RenderGAN framework to generate images of barcode-like markers that are attached to honeybees. Training a DCNN on data generated by the RenderGAN yields considerably better performance than training it on various baselines.
