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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.


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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Old Planetarium + Cutting Edge Studio

OLD PLANETARIUM REVAMPED INTO CUTTING-EDGE STUDIO Months after the opening of the Charles W. Brown Planetarium, Ball State has found a new use for its almost 50-year-old predecessor. The dome-shaped room in the basement of the Cooper Science Complex has become a production facility dedicated to developing new shows for planetariums nationwide. “This is an […]

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Dr. Bernard Frischer Lecture: Rome Reborn: 3D Reconstructions as Tools for Discovery

Bernard Frischer is a digital archaeologist who writes about virtual heritage, Classics, and the survival of the classical world. He received his Ph.D. in Classics from the University of Heidelberg. He followed his doctoral work in Germany with a two-year postdoc at the American Academy in Rome, where he studied Roman topography and archaeology. Dr. […]

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NATIONAL AWARD: VIRTUAL ESCAPE ROOM

The BSU College of Health and CAP’s IDIA Lab were honored with a national award for their collaborative virtual escape room project. The  serious game, “The Case of the Kidnapped Healthcare Professionals: Virtual Escape Room” was selected to receive the 2023 Creativity in Practice and Education Award from the National Academies of Practice (NAP). BSU’s […]

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Flickr Gettr: IDIA performs at the International Annual Science and Technology Festival in India

John Fillwalk and Jesse Allison travelled to Mumbai, India for the International Annual Science and Technology Festival, January 22-24, to exhibit the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts’ (IDIA) “Flickr Getter” installation. The festival, the largest of its kind in Asia, hosted more than 65,000 attendees. In addition to exhibitions such as “Flickr Getter”, the festival […]

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Smithsonian and National Park Service Presentations

Vice-President of Information Technology, Phil Repp and IDIA Lab Director, John Fillwalk traveled to Washington, D.C. to present Ball State projects in electronic field trips, virtual worlds and hybrid design to several federal organizations. Meetings included a presentation at the Smithsonian Institution Building on the National Mall to representatives from all the Smithsonian Museums and […]

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Newton’s Cenotaph in VR

Appeared in Engadget, Variety and Motherboard Linden Lab lifted the veil on Sansar, the long awaited followup to Second Life, allowing the general public to explore VR environments that beta-testers have been creating for the platform. Among the usual suspects of ritzy nightclubs and elven cities is something unexpected. Over the summer, a group of […]

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VIRTUAL COURTROOM SIMULATOR

IDIA is collaborating with BSU’s Brandy and Greg Rocheleau from the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology on the production of a Virtual Courtroom. The project, funded by BSU’s Women of Beneficence, is a program designed to allow students in designated criminal justice classrooms to participate in courtroom simulations through the use of avatars to […]

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RUTGERS HEALTHCARE SIMULATION

IDIA is designing an interactive virtual training simulator for Rutgers University’s School of Health Professions. The project immerses students within TeamSTEPPS, Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety. Developed by AHRQ, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, TeamSTEPPS is an interprofessional communication framework providing interdisciplinary collaboration and teamwork tools aimed at […]

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VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT 3D UI

ChromaChord utilizes a combination of the Oculus Rift headset and an attached Leap Motion controller to create an immersive 3D VMI environment. The Oculus Rift provides a three-paneled visual interface, through Unity, that allows the users to access different component windows of the instrument (simply by turning their head), while the Leap Motion Controller allows […]

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