John FILLWALK
(Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts, IDIA Lab, Ball State University, Indiana USA)
Abstract:
The Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA Lab) at Ball State University in Indiana, USA will present excerpts from several recent visualization, virtual reality and augmented reality projects. This video presentation will including excerpts from IDIA Lab’s animation work for The History Channel on two episodes of their Universe series, consisting of high definition CGI for one show on celestial alignments at Stonehenge and another episode featuring several sites in Ancient Rome – including the Pantheon, Hadrian’s Villa and the Meridian of Augustus. This content was based a simulator created by IDIA Lab using NASA JPL celestial data. The final animations were rendered in Maya and Vue.
Also featured on the video will be examples of Unity-based museum interpretation projects employing augmented reality. These include an Adena-Hopewell Native American Mounds Culture site using GPS and AR Image tracking to push content to visitors. Media, text, sound video, 3D objects and 3D simulations are all engaged in this interpretive work.
The virtual world of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, created in Unity, will also be featured on the reel – providing a rich and dynamic 3D environment allowing visitors to explore interactive recreations of Cody’s tent and a simulation of one of the main attractions of the Grandstand event – the Deadwood Stagecoach Robbery. The world includes interactive objects providing contextual learning opportunities, simulations of real life vignettes, BOT characters that visitors can dialogue with and a rich archive that is integrated into the world.
Keywords: simulation, visualization, virtual worlds, augmented reality, iOS, android, Unity, cultural heritage, celestial alignments, archeology