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The Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA Lab) at Ball State University explores the intersection between the arts, sciences, and humanities using a broad range of technologies. Founded in 2005, IDIA Lab has been designing scholarly, creative, teaching and learning projects that investigate virtual reality, human computer interface (HCI), augmented reality, mobile apps, interactive artworks, immersive environments, head mounted display, visualization and 3D simulation. The IDIA Lab studios were initially incubated through the Eli Lilly Endowment’s Digital Media Initiative as part of two generous grants to the University. IDIA Lab’s research facilities include five distinct labs – IDIA Lab, CAVE Lab, DOME Lab, HCI Lab, and SIM Lab – all working in concert with tour partner, the Digital Scholarship Lab (DSL). The labs’ faculty, staff and students develop projects in collaboration with a cohort of international clients in this innovative initiative that investigates the forefront of emergent design, expression and learning.


Wishing Well: AI Exhibition in Beijing

IDIA Lab exhibits Wishing Well at the National Museum of China Wishing Well ( 许愿池 ) creates an environment where visitor’s interaction shapes the substance, meaning and character of the artwork – mediated through art artificial intelligence. Upon engaging the installation, a participant speaks a wish into a pool of water that only they can […]

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BSU HOSTS XR CONFERENCE

IDIA Lab was invited by the Campus Alliance for Advanced Visualization to host their annual conference (CAAV) in Fall 2023 at the College of Architectures and Planning. The CAAV is a nonprofit organization that promotes the capabilities for use of extended reality technologies, such as CAVE-style immersive VR systems, video walls, headsets, and advanced visualization […]

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Virtual Hadrian’s Villa Launch at Harvard Center

Virtual Hadrian’s Villa Launch at Harvard Center IDIA Lab has designed a virtual simulation of the villa of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site located outside of Rome in Tivoli, Italy. This project has been produced in collaboration with the Virtual World Heritage Laboratory (VWHL) at Indiana University (IU), directed […]

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VBAM: VIRTUAL BROAD ART MUSEUM COMMISSION

Press Release View the VBAM project VBAM Introductory Lecture John Fillwalk and the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA Lab) at Ball State University were commissioned to design and build a virtual museum artworks for the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum in East Lansing, MI. The physical Museum, was designed by architect Zaha Hadid […]

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Mellon Foundation Humanities Virtual World Consortium

BSU’s IDIA Lab was contracted by the Mellon Foundation Humanities Virtual World Consortium to design and develop a major open source virtual world initiative for Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage projects. The consortium – comprised of Kings College, London; UCLA; the University of Virginia and Trinity College, Dublin – turned to the expertise of BSU’s […]

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Mesa Verde Virtual Companion

Mesa Verde Virtual Companion Ball State Univeristy’s IDIA Lab has been contracted by the US Department of the Interior to develop virtual visitor experiences for the Mesa Verde National Park. The park preserves and interprets the archeological heritage of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, from 600 to […]

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Virtual Meridian of Augustus: Presentation at the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Archeology

IDIA Lab virtual celestial simulator and 3D interpretation of the Meridian of August in ancient Rome. Project commissioned by the Virtual World Heritage Laboratory at Indiana University, directed by Bernard Frischer. Findings presented at the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Archeology in Rome Thursday December 19th, 2013 A Digital Simulation of the Northern Campus Martius in […]

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Khan Academy

The Khan Academy featured HDT / IDIA Lab and Virtual World Heritage Laboratories Digital Hadrian’s Villa Project. Hosted by Beth Harris, Dean of Art and History at Khan Academy, a walkthrough with archeologist and HDT research fellow Dr. Bernard Frischer showcases the project. A virtual tour of Hadrian’s Villa using a 3D digital model of […]

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Meet3D

Meet3D is a virtual collaboration space that brings people together to share, learn, and work – wherever they are. Private or public auditoriums, classrooms, conference halls or offices can be joined by any group or audience on demand. Meet3D was developed by the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts at Ball State University to bring remote […]

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Interactive Art at the College of Architecture and Planning

The IDIA Lab is designing a series of extended reality artworks that will be installed in the atrium of the College of Architecture and Planning. The installation allows passers-by to interact using various modes including motion, voice, and gesture to shape the compositions. The works employ sensors, sound art, artificial intelligence, and other programming to […]

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NSF Virtual Teaching Simulator

The College of Architecture and Planning’s IDIA Lab creates technological innovation in the arts, sciences, and humanities. The Lab engages students, staff, scholars and clients in collaborative projects including 3D, virtual reality and mobile applications. This newsletter includes updates on current IDIA Lab projects including an augmented reality visitor experience application for Mesa Verde National […]

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The Firefly Effect

A virtual social installation by John Fillwalk, IDIA Lab and Jody Naderi, CAP This work, designed specifically for Nuit Blanche Toronto activates a locative field in which participants engage in dynamic social experience. Individual users of the app interact with a dynamic feedback system allowing them to find the cadence of a contemplative walk. Participants […]

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History Channel’s The Universe Features Virtual Stonehenge

IDIA Lab has developed a simulation of Stonehenge in Unity 3D which illustrates the various stages of construction and celestial alignments in an interactive virtual simulator. The project incorporates IDIA Lab’s CelestialEngine which uses NASA JPL data to accurately position the sun, moon and visible planets – correcting for changes in time in the Earth’s […]

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NSF FUNDED VIRTUAL SIMULATION OF HADRIAN’S VILLA

NFS Funded Virtual Simulation of Hadrian’s Villa IDIA Lab has designed a virtual simulation of the villa of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site located outside of Rome in Tivoli, Italy. This project is being produced in collaboration with the Virtual World Heritage Laboratory (VWHL) at the University of Virginia […]

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Final Wisdom I: Interactive Haptic Poetry Installation at SIGGRAPH 2010

Final Wisdom I is an interactive installation engaging viewers in a sensory exploration of temporal and spatialized poetry. Participants manipulate imagery, sound and language through their gesture, touch and proximity. The work is engaged through a framework of cameras and sensors that react to heat, position, and capacitance – presenting a shifting environment of reactive media and haptics. Final Wisdom I is the […]

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The History Channel’s The Universe, Ancient Mysteries Solved: Roman Engineering

John Fillwalk, director of the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts and senior director of the university’s Hybrid Design Technologies initiative, was interviewed for the History Channel’s “The Universe.” The episode, which aired 9 p.m. May 23, featured the IDIA Lab’s digital recreation of ancient Roman structures. For the season finale of its popular program “The […]

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Engaging Technology II: Art + Science

The interplay of art and science—a concept at least as old as Leonardo da Vinci—is the focus of “Engaging Technology II,” an exhibition at Ball State University’s David Owsley Museum of Art which ran September 28, 2017 through December 22, 2017. Museum patrons experienced a selection of work from internationally renowned artists whose explorations on […]

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Apollo 11 Simulation for International MoonBase Alliance

A 3D simulation of an Apollo 11 landing was produced for International MoonBase Alliance and ImmersiveWorlds, LLC. by IDIA Lab. About IMA The International MoonBase Alliance (IMA) is an association comprised of leading scientists, educators, and entrepreneurs from space agencies and industries worldwide to advance the development and implementation of an international base on the […]

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CAVE

CAVE is an immersive 270° panorama screen primarily used for presentations to large groups of students. OmniFocus projection maximizes the shadow-free zone in our installation of the Elumenati‘s 8m GeoDome Panorama, so up to 40 people can share the space. Without headsets, the shared space sets the stage for spontaneous interactions with the content and one another. […]

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Ball State University’s IDIA Lab is granted rights to Blue Mars virtual world technology from Avatar Reality

Ball State University’s IDIA Lab is granted rights to Blue Mars virtual world technology from Avatar Reality http://bit.ly/BSU_BlueMars Ball State granted rights to develop $10 million Blue Mars virtual world technology (3/5/2012) Ball State granted rights to develop $10 million Blue Mars virtual world technology (3/5/2012) A digital laser scan of a centuries-old Buddha (above) and […]

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