# Augmented Reality in Cultural Heritage: An Overview of the Last Decade of Applications
## 3 Top Trending Applications of AR in Cultural Heritage
### Virtual Museums  
Museums that want to go beyond their traditional experience of providing information based on audio guides and paper catalogs are starting to innovate at the level of the user experience (see Figure 8), making it more intuitive [66]. At the same time, they are adopting innovative systems able to deliver the content of their information while improving the visitor's experience. AR museum information experience enables the visitors to learn about art collections [67; 68], archaeological sites [69], or ancient buildings [53; 70] in a simple and intuitive way [71]. Another advantage of using AR technologies in the museum is the ability to dynamically add a digital interactivity component to a museum exhibit. The digitally interactive component may be an AR game [72] that engages a player as a type of digital interactivity, or it may be a feature that provides an enhanced education [73; 74] or some other type of content related to the physical exhibit [75]. This has the effect of increasing the visitor's level of engagement with the artifacts and their meaning. The necessity for developing innovative methods to digitize CH artifacts into readily deployable 3D content is becoming a priority as AR gains more attention in the CH sector. Additionally, the workflows required to transform CH artifacts into immersive 3D content are hardly supported. In [76], a practical workflow that can be utilized for 3D reconstruction to AR visualization of CH assets has been developed, and it identifies and combines a variety of open access and custom tools and services. By using AR technologies, galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAMs) can add multiple sensorial experiences that can engage visitors with CH content. One such example is the alternating reality (AltR) narrative that was introduced in [77]. This is an interweaving of two seemingly disparate narratives, one real and one virtual. During this real-time experience, the user visualizes and interacts with the virtual narrative. The Museum Coffee Table [68] is a physical surface that has been augmented so that actual objects can be used to access data about artists and their works. Using this system, the entire family may gather around the table, enjoy coffee, and enhance their museum tour by learning new information and having fun. A study on how digital narrative content is used to communicate information regarding heritage trails through mobile apps is presented in [78]. By creating a list of the most frequently used features in successful mobile applications, it aims to make heritage trail apps more accessible and usable. Accessibility issues in museums and exhibitions require special attention. The current museum guide solutions do not facilitate the experience of CH content for people with hearing loss or people with other disabilities. AR technology provides an immersive way  
Figure 7: A 3D-augmented book titled _Constitutitio Criminalis Theresiana_ (also known as _Nemesis Theresiana_). Courtesy of [PERSON]. [65]. for people with hearing loss that allows them to engage with museum exhibitions [79]. In [80], an AR application that uses virtual humans as sign language storytellers for on-site CH experiences is proposed. Cataloging is an important part of the museum process that allows systematic classification of artifact information such as material, shape, function, and history. AR technologies can be used for cataloging information that describes museum artifacts in a dynamic and augmented description [62]. AR can help in the involvement of a new audience in museums through multi-dimensional environments that transpose visitors from physical to digital experiences and enable the exploration of new views [81, 82]. Many studies [63] estimate that, in the near future, AR is expected to be used in a wide variety of museum exhibits that will increase visitor knowledge and interactivity.