Augmented reality will transport users to time and place of Kent State shooting on May 4, 1970

Kent State University will use grant money to launch an augmented reality experience to commemorate the deadly events on May 4, 1970, when an Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on Kent State students protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam War, killing four and wounding nine people.

Kent State received a $175,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to launch an on-site reality experience that will allow users to visit the time in history by putting them in the landscape of the campus, exactly as it was on May 1 through 4, 1970.

The technology will deliver historical content to the user on a mobile device, according to a user’s specific locations. A previous 2018 grant allowed researchers to develop a prototype of the augmented reality experience.