Use output data

After you get the output from a model as a tensor, you can post-process the data to use it in your project.

Download to a CPU tensor

Use ReadbackAndClone or ReadbackAndCloneAsync to move a tensor on the graphics processing unit (GPU) to the central processing unit (CPU) to read it.

For best practices on how to do this efficiently, refer to read the tensor data asynchronously.

For example:

var outputTensor = worker.Schedule(inputTensor).PeekOutput() as Tensor<float>;
var cpuTensor = outputTensor.ReadbackAndClone();

The returned tensor is a CPU-based, read-writable copy of the output tensor.

For details on how to index and access the tensor, refer to tensor fundamentals and access tensor data directly.

Convert to a render texture

To convert a tensor to a render texture, use TextureConverter.RenderToTexture to write tensor data to an existing render texture.

When you use TextureConverter.RenderToTexture, if the dimensions of the tensor doesn't match those of the render texture, Inference Engine makes the following adjustments:

  • Samples the tensor linearly if the dimensions don't match.
  • Removes channels from the end if the render texture has fewer channels than the tensor.
  • Sets values in RGB channels to 0 and values in the alpha channel to 1 if the render texture has more channels than the tensor.

For working examples, refer to the Convert tensors to textures example in the sample scripts.

Example

// Instantiate the render texture
public RenderTexture rt = new RenderTexture(24, 32, 0, RenderTextureFormat.ARGB32);
Worker worker;
Tensor inputTensor;

void Start()
{
    // Get the output of the model as a tensor
    Tensor<float> outputTensor = worker.PeekOutput() as Tensor<float>;

    // Convert the tensor to a texture and store it in the render texture
    TextureConverter.RenderToTexture(outputTensor, rt);
}
Note

Avoid unnecessary resource allocation and don't re-allocate tensors or textures every frame.

Copy to the screen

To copy an output tensor to the screen, follow these steps:

  1. Set the Camera.targetTexture property of Camera.main to null.
  2. Create a script and attach it to the Camera.
  3. In the script, use TextureConverter.RenderToScreen in an event function, such as OnRenderImage.

If the image is too bright, the output tensor might be using values from 0 to 255 instead of 0 to 1. You can use Edit a model to remap the values in the output tensor before calling RenderToScreen.

The following script uses a model to change a texture, then copies the result to the screen. Set modelAsset to one of the style transfer models from ONNX and inputImage to a texture. Check the Texture import settings to make sure the texture matches the shape and layout the model needs.

using UnityEngine;
using Unity.InferenceEngine;

public class StyleTransfer : MonoBehaviour
{
    public ModelAsset modelAsset;
    public Model runtimeModel;
    public Texture2D inputImage;
    public RenderTexture outputTexture;

    Worker worker;
    Tensor<float> inputTensor;

    void Start()
    {
        var sourceModel = ModelLoader.Load(modelAsset);
        var graph = new FunctionalGraph();
        var input = graph.AddInput(sourceModel, 0);
        var output = Functional.Forward(sourceModel, input)[0];
        // rescale output of source model
        output /= 255f;
        graph.AddOutput(output);
        var runtimeModel = graph.Compile();

        worker = new Worker(runtimeModel, BackendType.GPUCompute);
        inputTensor = new Tensor<float>(new TensorShape(1, 3, 256, 256));
    }

    void OnRenderImage(RenderTexture source, RenderTexture destination)
    {
        // Create the input tensor from the texture
        TextureConverter.ToTensor(inputImage, inputTensor, new TextureTransform());

        // Run the model and get the output as a tensor
        worker.Schedule(inputTensor);
        Tensor<float> outputTensor = worker.PeekOutput() as Tensor<float>;

        // Copy the rescaled tensor to the screen as a texture
        TextureConverter.RenderToScreen(outputTensor);
    }

    void OnDisable()
    {
        worker.Dispose();
    }
}

When using Universal Render Pipeline (URP) or the High-Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP), call RenderToScreen in the RenderPipelineManager.endFrameRendering or RenderPipelineManager.endContextRendering callbacks. For more information, refer to Rendering.RenderPipelineManager.

For an example, refer to the Copy a texture tensor to the screen example in the sample scripts.

Additional resources