Over the past two decades, the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts at Ball State University (IDIA Lab) has produced a diverse array of cultural and digital heritage projects across virtual reality, museum exhibits, mobile apps, and augmented reality. Their VR and 3D simulations have brought to life historical environments—from immersive reconstructions of the 1915 San Francisco World’s Fair, complete with laser-scanned sculptures, to a NASA-data-informed virtual model of the pre-Incan site of Pumapunku in modern-day Bolivia. They’ve developed mobile and locative apps such as the Mesa Verde AR Visitor Interpretation App (preserving Ancestral Puebloan heritage) and numerous interpretive and locative mobile heritage tours. The Lab’s virtual reality work includes several museum exhibitions, including an AR diorama of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, animated museum models, and interactive mobile experiences integrating 3D overlays, sound, and storytelling. These efforts combine historical, cultural, and archaeological narratives with archival information to provide immersive learning environments, support heritage interpretation, and deepen public engagement with the past.
Pumapunku Reconstruction
Pumapunku Reconstruction There’s something fascinating about looking at ancient ruins and imagining what the lives and culture might have been like of the people who lived there. With the everchanging advancements in technology, researchers can get closer than they ever have to solving these mysteries. Ball State University faculty John Fillwalk, senior director of the […]
Read More About Pumapunku ReconstructionIndiana University VR Exhibit
Indiana University VR Exhibit Indiana University Virtual Museum Exhibition Opens BSU IDIA Lab recently launched its virtual reality exhibition interpreting the Angel Mounds heritage site at the Indiana University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (IUMAA). The gala ribbon cutting event opened a portion of the collections of the former Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology and […]
Read More About Indiana University VR ExhibitAPOLLO 11 50th ANNIVERSARY
3D simulation of Apollo 11 landing created for the John F. Kennedy Library’s 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Mission. Produced for the International MoonBase Alliance. Produced by the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts at Ball State University. https://idialab.org/ About IMA The International MoonBase Alliance (IMA) is an association comprised of leading scientists, educators, and […]
Read More About APOLLO 11 50th ANNIVERSARYDeep Mapping / VR / GIS
IDIA Lab: Deep Mapping Platform – Unity / ArcGIS (DMP) Features: Map Layers Progressive Global Maps and ArcGIS data integrated into platform Map view – selectable integrated ArcGIS Maps Maps provide teleportation to targeted locations Togglable map layer integration (i.e., Sanborn, Cadastral, Topographic) through UI or browser 3D Object Layer Live import 3D building layers […]
Read More About Deep Mapping / VR / GISSmithsonian 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 ExhibitionByōdō-In
Experience Byōdō-In, by IDIA Lab, is an immersive virtual tour exploring the richness of Japanese heritage. Virtually travel to the past to interact with this important historical temple complex. The simulation provides users with elements such as detailed 3D models, interactive zones, animated characters and fauna, and user interfaces to learn about the significance of […]
Read More About Byōdō-InMellon 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 […]
Read More About Mellon Foundation Humanities Virtual World ConsortiumMesa Verde AR Visitor Interpretation App
Mesa Verde AR Visitor Interpretation App 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 […]
Read More About Mesa Verde AR Visitor Interpretation AppVirtual 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 […]
Read More About Virtual Meridian of Augustus: Presentation at the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of ArcheologyHistory 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 […]
Read More About History Channel’s The Universe Features Virtual StonehengeNSF 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 VILLANewton’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 […]
Read More About Newton’s Cenotaph in VRAntinoeion
Antinoeion Virtual Antinoeion, is a virtual reality application designed by the IDIA Lab at Ball State University. This temple, located at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hadrian’s Villa, was a sacred temple dedicated to Antinous, the beloved companion of Emperor Hadrian, who drowned in the Nile in 130 CE. This monument underscores the deep […]
Read More About AntinoeionArabic Heritage
Experience Arabic Heritage is an immersive virtual reality tour recreating several UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Middle East. The project includes virtual experiences of the Tomb of Lihyan, located at Hegra, in Saudi Arabia, featuring monumental tombs with carved facades dating from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD; the oasis of […]
Read More About Arabic HeritageVirtual Companion: Indianapolis
Virtual Monument Circle is a mobile application that uses historic photographs and maps of downtown Indianapolis, IN to create an immersive interpretation of various historic phases of the city center. This project is a prototype for a larger potential city-wide endeavor bringing to life significant neighborhoods and sites within the city. It is developed as […]
Read More About Virtual Companion: IndianapolisVirtual Companion: Columbus
IDIA Lab – in collaboration with BSU Assistant Professor of Architecture, Kristin Barry – has designed the cultural heritage mobile application, Virtual Columbus Experience – allowing users to virtually tour the rich architectural history of Columbus, Indiana. This locative mobile app was produced with fellowship support of Ball State University’s Digital Scholarship Lab. Though a […]
Read More About Virtual Companion: Columbus1915 Worlds Fair
1915 Worlds Fair Panama-Pacific International Exposition Simulation IDIA simulation of the 1915 San Francisco Panama – Pacific Exposition The project allows for visitors to travel to the past to immersively tour a recreation of an historic environment that no longer exists. The exposition celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal but also San Francisco’s recovery […]
Read More About 1915 Worlds FairWright Brothers Workshop
IDIA Lab has created a virtual simulation of the Wright Brothers bicycle shop in Dayton, OH for the HTC Vive headset and SteamVR. The environment is a recreation of the Wright Cycle Company, on South Williams Street in Dayton was built in 1886 and is a US National Historic Landmark and on the National Register […]
Read More About Wright Brothers WorkshopVirtual World Heritage Ohio
Ball State University and Ohio History Council Sponsored by the Office of Digital Humanities, National Endowment for the Humanities The public will be able to explore the prehistoric Newark Earthworks in Ohio the way they appeared 2,000 years ago. Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Office of Digital Humanities, this interactive 3D simulation […]
Read More About Virtual World Heritage OhioLaunch of Virtual Companion iOS app by IDIA Lab
Learn how modern technology can shape our understanding of the past during a special program at Mounds State Park on Saturday, Nov. 14. Visitors to the 1 p.m. program will join park naturalist Kelley Morgan to learn about modern technologies that help archaeologists and historians bring the past to life. During the second half, director […]
Read More About Launch of Virtual Companion iOS app by IDIA LabVirtual Buffalo Bill
Ball State University’s IDIA Lab https://idialab.org is developing a multiplayer virtual world that simulates Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. This digital history project is built in Unity 3D using custom software created by IDIA Lab and is being produced for the Buffalo Bill Center for the West in Cody, WY. Scholars include Douglas Seefeldt and James […]
Read More About Virtual Buffalo BillTemple of Artemis: Wonder of the Ancient World
IDIA Lab was contracted by digital humanities scholars at UCLA to design and build a virtual simulation of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Wonders of the Ancient World, This massive Greek temple, four times the size of the Parthenon lies in ruin in present-day Turkey. This simulation incorporates our CelestialEngine with accurately positions […]
Read More About Temple of Artemis: Wonder of the Ancient WorldChichen Itza
Student Fellow, Adam Kobitz, demonstrates a recreation of Chichen Itza within Unity Software. For the video, click on the link below. YouTube Video Demonstration
Read More About Chichen ItzaVirtual Roman Pantheon
The Pantheon is the best-preserved architectural monument of ancient Rome. This simulation by BSU’s IDIA Lab represents the Pantheon and its surrounds as it may have appeared in 320 AD. Visitors to this simulation can tour the vicinity, learning about the history, function and solar alignments through an interactive heads up display created for this […]
Read More About Virtual Roman PantheonVirtual Middletown Living Museum in Blue Mars
The Virtual Middletown Living Museum project in Blue Mars is a simulation of the Ball Glass factory from early 20th century Muncie, Indiana. Life and conditions in the factory were one of the key elements of the Middletown Studies by Robert S. and Helen Merrell Lynd in their landmark studies Middletown (1929) and Middletown in Transition (1937). These in-depth accounts […]
Read More About Virtual Middletown Living Museum in Blue MarsUnderstanding Islam through Virtual Worlds
John Fillwalk and Jesse Allison’s virtual artwork was prominently incorporated into the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs’ publication Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds. After a year of research spanning four continents and interviews with dozens of people across the virtual world of the Internet, Carnegie Fellows Rita J. King and Joshua S. Fouts […]
Read More About Understanding Islam through Virtual WorldsVirtual Kitty Hawk
IDIA Lab’s Kitty Hawk is a simulation of the moment recorded in the famous photograph of the flight of the Wright Flyer (often retrospectively referred to as Flyer I or 1903 Flyer). This flyer was the first successful powered aircraft, designed and built by the Wright brothers. They flew it four times on December 17, […]
Read More About Virtual Kitty HawkVirtual Izapa
IDIA Lab’s Virtual Izapa, is a simulation of the site that is considered to be the birthplace of the Mayan Long Count, which ended its cycle today on December 21st, 2012 – the winter solstice. Viewed today, the site is oriented on an axis where it is aligned generally but not precisely to sunrise on […]
Read More About Virtual Izapa