Abstract. The use of Augmented Reality (AR) technology is widespread in countless archaeological sites and a variety of applications. Archaeological excavations lead to archaeological finds, some of which are transported for preservation and then for exhibition in museums (jewelry, vases, etc.), while another part of them is documented in detail and remains in situ (eg building walls), roads, grave covers, etc.). However, after the registration of the archaeological finds, it is impossible to observe them. As part of our research project, we will develop for the first time AR methodology and procedures for the observation of covered archaeological finds on mobile devices (smart phones, tablets), which were registered after their documentation. AR technology in recent years has seen great growth in terms of implementation platforms and available software, as well as the tools developed to support it. These tools either make their appearance in the form of frameworks, extending the capabilities of an existing engine, or function as independent services. At the same time, progress has been made in the field of sensors of mobile devices, which makes the compatibility of hardware and software another issue to be researched. As part of the development of the above application for mobile devices, an evaluation is made of the most widespread AR Frameworks that support the Unity3d Game Engine and the compatibility / interoperability with the sensors of different categories of mobile devices. The frameworks were checked and evaluated for placement and tracking of the positions of the 3D covered objects. In this paper also, methodologies and techniques used in space detection and tracking are presented and evaluated.

Abstract. Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) technology offers novel and excited experiences to visitors of cultural sites. Extended recent technological advances in smart communication devices made the connection of the real to the virtual worlds more affordable and effective. In spite of the rapid development and availability of the AR/VR applications to cultural heritage, there still exist gaps and challenges in accurate positioning and navigation of visitors’ smart devices in both out-doors archaeological spaces as well as in in-doors museum spaces. Recent technology smart devices embody GNSS positioning sensors, which in best cases, provide 1-meter positioning accuracies in open spaces, while are unable to work in-doors. Such accuracies and restrictions lead to gaps in fetching visitor’s position in AR environments and mis-positions with regard to the rest AR/VR objects as visualized in smart screens, while the problem gets worse when dealing with real-time videoing, when elapse times and refresh rates lead to additional mispositionings. In this paper, effort is made to present and evaluate the most recent and widely used tools for positioning and navigation of smart devices in in- and out-doors CH sites.

Abstract. DIGI-ORCH is a research project with objectives, on one hand, to design and develop "smart" brochures for concerts and educational programs of the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki (Greece), and, on the other, to develop an innovative system for the visualization of information on smart mobile devices (smartphones and tablets). The application of Augmented Reality (AR) provides free access to the information and content of the above concerts and educational programs, combining the information of a robust data server and an easy-to-use user interface of the smart device in real-time.The pilot implementation of the system in real conditions took place at the beginning of December 2022, in an event held at the facilities of the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki. The event was an evening of Chamber Music entitled Musical Kaleidoscope, with the internationally acclaimed artists Simos Papanas (violin), Dimos Goundaroulis (violoncello), and Vassilis Varvaresos (piano). They performed the Piano Trio no. 3 in G minor, Robert Schumann's opus 110, and the Piano Trio no. 2 in E flat major, Op. 100 D. 929 by Franz Schubert. The concert was attended by over 150 attendees.The paper will present the chaîne-operatoire of the development of the system, from the acquisition of raw data (text, video, image, and sound) to the methodology used to produce the "smart" event brochure and the AR application for the above concert. Essentially, this large amount of information that cannot be assessed by a regular printed concert brochure is included in the smart system and displayed on the mobile device when the user locates the appropriate AR patterns on the surface of the analog concert poster and/or on the pages of the brochure.This information comprised of ie. additional text and images about the composers and their musical projects, about the musicians of the concert (e.g. biographies), their interviews and rehearsals (video) before the concert, information about the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki (text, video, image, and sound), 3D models of musical instruments, 360° of the concert space, etc. diverse multimedia material.

Abstract. Although there are several attempts of embedding static content in events’ brochures and posters, the increasing need for flexibility and versatility of the content, leads to the development of a mobile application with an in-app dynamic content management system. In this context, DigiOrch is an ongoing research program where, a Content Management System is developed to organize all the digital material and maintain the appropriate connection to the analogical markers. Furthermore, a mobile application is developed that lev-erages this system using in app dynamic modules, which, by utilizing the augmented reality technology, presents multimedia data such as texts, photos, videos, and 3D Models to the end-user by “superimposing” them on mobile devices screen, providing extra additional information on any valid smart-leaflet.The overall workflow of the in-app Dynamic Content Management System (DCMS) can be described as a group of modules that managing and copying content files from a remote infrastructure such as an ftp server or a local resource if network is missing, to the mobile device’s file system.The in-app DCMS consists of 4 modules: The first module is the parser, which is responsible for reading a downloaded *.json file and creating content-linked objects. The second module is the download module which is responsible for downloading the overall content by iterating the content-linked objects, created by the previous module. The third module le is the update module that, by iterating the initial content file and the local file system, suggests whether a content update is necessary. The fourth module is the loading module, which is responsible for fetching the content on runtime to fill the content-holding components, such as 3D Models and UI photo galleries, of the AR scenes on runtime.