Academic Summit

Virtual University on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Campus

Orchestra Room, Angelle Hall

This presentation will showcase the timeline and creative details for generating a three-dimensional interactive map of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with mobile application capabilities. First, we began with architectural models of the buildings on campus and remodeled them using the computer-aided design software, Autodesk Maya. Our goal was to model and texture each building using the least number of polygons possible to ensure least load time for the mobile application of the campus. Next, all of the buildings were implemented into the game engine running the mobile application called Unity. The layout of the campus in the game engine matches exactly to the physical layout of the university. The user-interactive features of the campus application are programmed using the language JavaScript. These features are comprised of graphical user interface buttons and scripts that can detect taps on a touchscreen device. Features include navigating through campus with the motion of your finger on the iPhone or tablet and a pause menu which allows the user to move to any part of campus of his or her choosing. Future prospects for this project include adding more aesthetics to the virtual campus (trees, students, weather) and GPS capabilities.