Generative AI Could Bring Millions of Apps Into 3D Reality

The idea of people experiencing their favorite mobile apps as immersive 3D environments took a step closer to reality with a new Google-funded research iniative at Georgia Tech.

A new approach proposed by Tech researcher Yalong Yang uses generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technologies to convert almost any mobile or web-based app into a 3D environment.

That includes application software programs from Microsoft and Adobe as well as any social media (Tiktok), entertainment (Spotify), banking (PayPal), or food service app (Uber Eats) and everything in between.

Yang aims to make the 3D environments compatible with augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) headsets and smart glasses. He believes his research could be a breakthrough in spatial computing and change how humans interact with their favorite apps and computer systems in general.

“We’ll be able to turn around and see things we want, and we can grab them and put them together,” said Yang, an assistant professor in the School of Interactive Computing. “We’ll no longer use a mouse to scroll or the keyboard to type, but we can do more things like physical navigation.”

Yang’s proposal recently earned him recognition as a 2025 Google Research Scholar. Along with converting popular social apps, his platform will be able to instantly render Photoshop, MS Office, and other workplace applications in 3D for AR/VR devices.