Computational humanities: the new challenge for VR

The Virtual Reality Applications Center at Iowa State University has been applying VR to the arts and humanities for many years. Our multidisciplinary research began in the area of virtual heritage, reconstructing historical locations and creating compelling artistic environments such as Nexus. Our work is evolving toward environments that accurately represent a particular location and include the activities that took place into that location. As we move in that direction, we are facing exciting challenges that renew our enthusiasm in VR. This article reflects our experiences integrating VR into the area of computational humanities.