This paper discusses the design and development of CreteAR, a system that integrates Extended Reality (XR) with a transformable physical model of the island of Crete to enhance learning experiences. CreteAR features an XR application for handheld devices that overlays information on a scale model, which is equipped with mechatronics to elevate or conceal showcases containing culturally significant items. Users can interact with both the digital content and the physical model, activating the showcases and accessing information through a companion display. The paper explores relevant literature, analyzes similar systems, and details the design process, including user requirements and expert feedback. CreteAR was initially conceived as a prototype, but it holds the potential to contribute to the development of broader applications across various domains beyond the scope of Crete’s geography and heritage. It was designed to deliver an immersive and handson learning experience, emphasizing social interaction and cooperative exploration, engaging users in dynamic and meaningful interactions.

Modern digitization technologies have created an increasing number of possibilities for capturing the physical dimensions and appearance of archaeological artifacts and sites in 3D. The usage of such data is usually targeted to the research, study, and documentation of our cultural heritage. At the same time, the increasing quality of the produced digitizations has opened new possibilities for the further exploitation of digitization outcomes in a wider context than initially expected. A pioneer in this direction was the gaming industry, where photogrammetry has been recently employed to achieve extreme photorealism. Of course, challenges still exist, especially when digitization accuracy is of importance, such as in the case of large-scale archaeological sites. Further challenges regard the need to combine indoor and outdoor scenes that pose requirements in the selection of the appropriate digitization modalities and post-processing strategies. In more detail, the challenges relate to the appropriate usage of existing technologies, organization issues in terms of digitization visits, the combination and registration of data, data acquisition, and data processing methodologies, etc. In this paper, we demonstrated a methodology for the digitization of archaeological sites that can be used for creating digital assets suitable for various scenarios including research, education, and entertainment.

Abstract— Considering the prevalence of Ambient Intelligence, this work aims to enhance the interaction between farmers and Intelligent Environments, in order to support their various daily Agricultural activities, aspiring to improve the quality and quantity of cultivated species. Towards this direction, the Greta system was designed and developed, following a user-centered design process, permitting farmers/agronomists to easily monitor and control an Intelligent Greenhouse via a set of useful and usable applications. Greta offers a progressive web app (PWAs) targeting PCs, handheld devices, and technologically-enhanced artifacts of Smart Homes, while it also delivers an Augmented Reality application that visualizes the greenhouse’s interior conditions in a sophisticated manner, and provides context-sensitive assistance regarding cultivation activities. In more detail, the system interoperates with the ambient facilities of an Intelligent Greenhouse allowing end-users to: monitor the conditions inside the greenhouse, remotely control the state of various actuators, be notified regarding the available/active automations, be aware of the optimal conditions for their plants to grow and receive relevant guidelines, be informed regarding any diseases, and communicate with experts for receiving treatment advice. This work describes the design methodology and functionality of Greta, and documents the results of a series of expert-based evaluation experiments.