ARKit is Apple’s foundational augmented reality framework that enables developers to build immersive, responsive AR experiences for iOS and iPadOS—making it a crucial tool for digital humanities projects that blend physical space with historical or cultural storytelling. With features like motion tracking, scene recognition, real-world object placement, and advanced spatial mapping, ARKit supports the creation of apps that visualize archaeological sites, animate archival material, or reconstruct past environments in situ. Its integration with tools like RealityKit and Swift makes it ideal for interdisciplinary teams combining code, narrative, and place-based interpretation.

RealityKit is Apple’s high-performance 3D framework designed for building immersive augmented reality experiences across iOS and macOS, and it’s a powerful engine for digital humanities applications. With native support for photorealistic rendering, spatial audio, physics, and scene understanding, RealityKit enables creators to craft richly interactive environments that engage users through both visual and embodied storytelling. It seamlessly integrates with Reality Composer and Swift, making it ideal for AR projects that reconstruct historical settings, simulate cultural rituals, or narrate digital archives in real-world context.

Hubs by Mozilla is a browser-based virtual collaboration platform that enables users to create immersive 3D spaces for social interaction, education, and storytelling—making it a versatile tool for digital humanities. With easy room customization, avatar interaction, and support for spatial media like 3D models, video, and links, Hubs facilitates embodied exploration of historical reconstructions, interactive archives, or collaborative exhibits. Because it’s open source and accessible via any device with a web browser, it’s ideal for inclusive engagement across disciplines and geographies.

Google Arts & Culture is a dynamic platform and mobile app that opens up global access to high-resolution images, virtual tours, and curated stories from over 2,000 cultural institutions worldwide. Especially powerful for digital humanities work, it enables researchers, educators, and students to explore artworks, historical landmarks, and cultural narratives across time and geography—while integrating tools like 3D scanning, augmented reality, and immersive storytelling. Whether you're designing a lesson on Renaissance art or building a comparative archive of indigenous textiles, the app serves as both an inspiration hub and a research gateway.

Reality Composer is Apple’s augmented reality authoring tool designed for intuitive creation of immersive 3D experiences, making it especially useful for digital humanities projects that explore space, narrative, and cultural artifacts. With its drag-and-drop interface, scene linking, and support for spatial audio and physics, Reality Composer allows educators, artists, and researchers to build AR models without needing to code—ideal for visualizing historic sites, storytelling environments, or interactive exhibition content on iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Autodesk Maya is a professional-grade 3D modeling and animation software that serves as a vital tool in digital humanities projects requiring intricate visualizations of cultural artifacts, historical environments, and artistic processes. Its advanced capabilities in character rigging, realistic rendering, and simulation empower researchers and educators to recreate ancient architecture, animate historical narratives, and explore spatial humanities in immersive ways. Maya’s precision and creative flexibility make it a top choice for scholars seeking to blend technical excellence with humanistic inquiry.

Unity is a powerful cross-platform game engine widely used in digital humanities for building immersive, interactive experiences such as virtual reconstructions, augmented reality applications, and digital exhibitions. With its robust 3D capabilities, real-time rendering, and flexible scripting environment, Unity enables scholars, educators, and artists to visualize historical spaces, simulate cultural processes, and design dynamic environments that enhance research, teaching, and public engagement. Its versatility makes it a leading tool for bringing humanities data to life through experiential storytelling.

The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) is a set of open standards that revolutionizes how digital images are accessed, shared, and studied in digital humanities. By enabling high-resolution zooming, layering, annotation, and cross-institutional comparison, IIIF empowers scholars to work collaboratively with visual materials—from medieval manuscripts to archival photographs—across platforms and repositories. Its flexible APIs foster innovation in research, teaching, and public engagement, making IIIF a cornerstone tool for exploring cultural heritage in digital spaces.

Booksnake is a scholarly iOS app that uses augmented reality to project digitized archival materials into physical space at life size, enabling direct, immersive interaction beyond the flat screen.

Scalar is a free, open-source publishing platform designed to support digital humanities scholars in creating nonlinear, media-rich narratives. Developed by the Alliance for Networking Visual Culture, it allows users to integrate text, images, video, and metadata into customizable books that prioritize argument-driven storytelling and interactive exploration. With built-in semantic web capabilities and flexible paths, Scalar empowers users to build scholarly works that challenge traditional linear formats and embrace the dynamic nature of digital research.