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Computer vision-based assistive technology for the visually impaired is still a field of ongoing research. Its fundamental scope is to extend the frontiers of visually impaired by means of providing a greater degree of independence and autonomy in their daily living activities. Towards this direction, we present the “e-Vision”, a hybrid system that couples the convenience and the inherently seamless adoption of an external camera embedded within a pair of eyeglasses with the processing power of modern smartphone devices. The system consists of a pair of eyeglasses integrating a camera and a mobile application that encapsulates computer vision algorithms capable to enhance several daily living tasks for the visually impaired. The proposed system is a context-aware solution and builds upon three important day-to-day activities: visiting a super-market, going an outdoor walk and carrying out a work at a public service. Going one step further, the e-Vision also caters for social inclusion by providing social context and enhances overall experience by adopting soundscapes that allow users to perceive selected points of interest in an immersive acoustic way.

Although Augmented Reality (AR) technology has entered many market and knowledge domains such as games and leisure activities, it remains rather limited in digital heritage. After studying the potentiality of using modern AR elements in a museum context, this paper proposes the use of additional game and educational elements in the core AR application in order to enhance the overall on-the-spot museum visitor’s experience. An agile AR application design methodology was followed by taking into account the needs of small-to-medium sized real-world museums. Moreover, a heuristic evaluation protocol was applied by a group of experts in order to test the proof-of-concept AR application, in which some novel elements were proposed such as the AR quiz game. The main findings indicate that enhanced AR experiences in museum settings can make a nice fit with the user environment, physical and perceptual abilities, known metaphors, and user position and motion in 3D space. Moreover, AR services can be provided under a minimum distraction and physical effort. As a conclusion, AR technologies are mature enough to be standardized for museum usage, while the audience seems to be ready to take advantage of the related enhanced museum experiences to maximize both user satisfaction and learning outcomes.

Reaching the underwater world is undoubtedly an incomparable adventure. Impressive geological structures, flourishing ecosystems, shipwrecks, and submerged landscapes lie beneath the sea surface in wait for discovery. However, this world is accessible only to those who have the chance to dive or to scientists conducting underwater research. By means of a dynamically developing sector of informatics utilizing Virtual (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) practices, the VIRTUALDiver project intends to provide access to all the aforementioned hidden “treasures” through the creation of an innovative platform providing unique interactive experiences. More specifically, specialized guided tours in natural and virtual environments covering areas of touristic, cultural, and environmental interest. VIRTUALDiver is an experience, design and content presentation platform, a custom-made add-on environment within the Unity 3D authoring tool, offering the ability to manage multimedia content in a simplified way. No specialized programming knowledge is required, enabling the project’s interdisciplinary consortium to easily collaborate and exchange ideas. The expected result is the establishment of a successful educational and entertaining cultural product to support businesses and professionals operating in the field of culture-tourism. Above all, VIRTUALDiver aspires to become a novel form of storytelling, immersing the user into unique experiences under the waves.