Will the Waifu2x browser plugin be created?

[My12123]

Will an extension be created for Google Chrome? Available at https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/extensions

[nagadomi]

I do not plan to create a chrome-extension at this time. However, there are several ways to implement it.

1. Jump to waifu2x.udp.jp with URL Query string

waifu2x.udp.jp supports specifying parameters with query string. So it can be called by specifying the URL of the image from the right-click menu.
Example
https://waifu2x.udp.jp/?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Simple_Wikipe_tan_by_Kasuga39.png&style=art&scale=2&noise=0

Pros: Easy to implement
Cons: Direct conversion is not allowed unless the user is a Patreon supporter (due to reCaptcha). Also, for some reason, the image URL may not be accessible.

2. In-browser processing (ONNX Runtime Web)

Using unlimited.waifu2x code, users can process images directly (inplace replace) on a web page.

Cons: Currently, only CPU mode is supported, so it is very slow

[nagadomi]

If web.py supports Cross-Origin Resource Sharing, API is available through XHR from chrome-extension.
However, I don't think anyone use it, so I won't develop it.

[My12123]

I think for those who read manga and comics, this will do.

[nagadomi]

WebGPU will be enabled in google-chrome 113, scheduled for release this month.
Then you can run ONNX models on GPU in the browser without local server setup.

[My12123]

Can I get more details?

[nagadomi]

WebGPU is a new API that allows GPU to be used from JavaScript in the browser.
Currently, google-chrome does not have this feature enabled by default. But it will be enabled in version 113, which will be released this month.
See https://developer.chrome.com/blog/webgpu-release/

Also, ONNX Runtime Web, a library for running ONNX models in web browser, is currently developing WebGPU backend.
unlimited.waifu2x.net uses WebAssembly backend(CPU) of ONNX Runtime Web, so once WebGPU backend is available, it will be able to run on GPU.

These are still uncertain, but the run-time environment for AI in the browser could change dramatically in the coming months.