The IDIA Lab offers curriculum in partnership with the Department of Art and the School of Music in the College of Fine Arts; and the Department of Architecture in the College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University. IDIA immersive learning and emerging media experiences attract students from all disciplines to design and produce a host of interactive digital projects. Undergraduate and graduate curriculum in new media are available in Art, Music, and Architecture. Several new programs are also in development.
Curriculum and Facilities
The IDIA Lab’s Immersive Seminar that involves students from across campus to work on innovative projects. Check out our recent news for descriptions of current and ongoing projects.
Immersion Projects
Interactive Virtual ChatBots
Interactive Virtual ChatBots The Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA Lab) at Ball State University has developed a demonstration of how artificial intelligence can drive real-time gestural and vocal responses in 3D virtual characters within the Unity game engine. This project showcases a new generation of AI-enabled non-player characters (NPCs) capable of engaging users through […]
Read More About Interactive Virtual ChatBotsVirtual Elementary School
Virtual Elementary School The Virtual Elementary School Project, designed by the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA Lab) at Ball State University for Maryknoll Elementary School in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, creates a fully interactive digital twin of the school’s physical campus. This innovative platform extends Maryknoll’s educational mission into an immersive online environment, enabling students, teachers, […]
Read More About Virtual Elementary SchoolSmithsonian VR Exhibition
Smithsonian VR Exhibition BSU IDIA Lab developed Virtual Milestones of Flight, an immersive head mounted display prototype designed for the permanent exhibition at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. Both the exhibition and simulation celebrate selections of the most significant airplanes, rockets, and spacecraft in history. Some of these craft incorporated into […]
Read More About Smithsonian VR ExhibitionNSF 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 […]
Read More About NSF FUNDED VIRTUAL SIMULATION OF HADRIAN’S VILLAResearch
IDIA Blackboard Greenhouse Grant for Virtual Worlds
Ball State University’s Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA) has produced a bridging toolset, linking the multi-user virtual environment of Second Life with Blackboard Learn – providing a unified, secure and fluid hybrid learning experience. This project is funded by the Blackboard Greenhouse Grant for Virtual Worlds and has produced an open-source Building Block. IDIA […]
Read More About IDIA Blackboard Greenhouse Grant for Virtual WorldsDigital Cinema Arts in the Virtual World, The Aesthetic Camera Project
The Aesthetic Camera Project was designed to deliver digital cinema curriculum through Second Life – an online virtual world. This intensive research and development project was hatched through a partnership between the College of Fine Arts, the Center for Media Design, and Information Technology. Students learn the techniques of filmmaking in this 3D collaborative multi-user […]
Read More About Digital Cinema Arts in the Virtual World, The Aesthetic Camera ProjectinterActivity
interActivity was a collaborative art system at the Ball State University Art Museum on February 25th 2007. It was hosted in conjunction with the Engaging Technology exhibit run by the newly minted IDIAA. Links interActivity News Items: Between Two Worlds:Virtuality in Arts and Teaching IDIA at Philips HighTech Campus during Dutch Design Week IDIA is […]
Read More About interActivityLas Americas Virtual Design Studio
The Las Americas Virtual Design Studio is made possible through a collaboration between IDIA, the College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University, the Las Americas Network, with the professional firm of BSA LifeStructures. The project linked 11 international Departments of Architecture, over 100 students and 11 faculty in this immersive collaboration environment. The students worked […]
Read More About Las Americas Virtual Design Studio