For students who have always wanted to tour the world and view famous sites, such as a huge Amida Buddha or the Panama-Pacific Exposition, Ball State's Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts can now offer these experiences and more with its new 3-D platform.
IDIA recently announced its release of a new virtual environment created for Blue Mars. Blue Mars is a 3-D, virtual-world platform where one can create an avatar and participate in countless activities, attractions and entertainment events online in the virtual world, according to a Ball State press release.
John Fillwalk, director of the IDIA program, said Blue Mars allows people to go further with visual exploration than they could previously.
After creating an account and downloading the Blue Mars program from bluemars.com, people can make their own avatar and browse destinations, including the IDIA lab.
To create these virtual worlds, students scanned pieces from the Ball State art gallery, Fillwalk said. They used the scans to create the art gallery where they then collaborated with historians to build the virtual environment where the sculpture would have resided.
Fillwalk said people can see historical events from the past or go to remote parts of the world they would not typically be able to visit.
People can tour the Yellow River in China, which is populated by a number of Buddhist sculptures, or visit the Ball State art gallery and click on each piece for more information.
Through Blue Mars, businesses can use the virtual world to hold meetings with clients across the country, and friends can use it catch up with one another as well.
Fillwalk said next on IDIA's agenda is creating a virtual campus for teachers and students to use to meet in a 3-D world instead of a physical classroom.
Read More
The eyes and ears of the David Owsley Museum of Art
By Madelyn Bracken / 8 hours agoThe David Owsley Museum of Art (DOMA) doesn’t only house art. For many Ball State University students, it houses opportunity. Graduate and social media assistant, and former DOMA intern and guard, Taylor Hamblin spent the past two years working at the museum surrounded with possibilities to further her career while at Ball State.
Center for Peace offers academic opportunities
By Meghan Braddy and Grayson Joslin / YesterdayOver the years, the center has offered a peace studies minor, conflict resolution training and grant funding.
AP: New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction
By Staff Reports / YesterdayNew York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with “egregious” improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case, according to the Associated Press (AP).
