# Augmented Reality in Cultural Heritage: An Overview of the Last Decade of Applications
## 3 Top Trending Applications of AR in Cultural Heritage
### Digital Heritage  
UNESCO's definition of digital heritage states the following: \"Digital heritage is made up of computer-based materials of enduring value that should be kept for future generations. Digital heritage emanates from different communities, industries, sectors and regions. Not all digital materials are of enduring value, but those that are require active preservation approaches if continuity of digital heritage is to be maintained.\" [52]. As such,  
Figure 6: An example of mobile AR application for exploration of the 3D reconstructed Prejmer Fortified Church, a UNESCO monument from Transylvania, Romania, courtesy of [PERSON] et al. [51]. we are interested in those applications that encompass digital heritage and technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, or mixed reality (MR). We review some of the influential work in this respect in the following. Digital heritage sites benefit extensively from the advent of social media platforms and applications that integrate feedback from such platforms [53]. [PERSON] et al. analyzed social media traffic (more precisely Twitter messages) in Seoul, in 2011, and discovered heavy messaging regarding various points of interest in the city, such as restaurants or cafes. Starting from this, they proposed a complete system based on semantic technologies which includes an AR app that recommends locations, which were previously ranked by analyzing the opinions of users over a period of three years [53]. Another application that demonstrates the value of digital heritage in tourism is presented in [54]. Here, an AR app exploits the concept of gamification in order to aid the process of learning history. Studies of AR applications dedicated to digital culture that are integrated in psychiatric therapy are promising. In [55], AR applications are presented as helpful tools for practitioners to deliver a form of art therapy. The acceptance of digital tools by therapists was influenced by their educational level with respect to the use of digital media. Digital tools are now embraced by researchers and practitioners [56; 57]. Clinical interventions that use VR or AR are reviewed in [58], in the context of psychological and behavioral health, with the purpose of identifying how technology modulates the communication between patient and clinician. The immersion of the visitor in the theater representation is facilitated by augmented reality in [59]. The authors bring their contribution in the form of 3D models of a historical church, as well as in the development of a multimedia system that allows participants in the show to be immersed in the virtual space. Digital heritage capitalized by means of AR applications, supported by sonic narratives [60], aids in creating a believable experience [59]. In another study pertinent to digital heritage, the digitization of cultural assets in museums in China is inspected [61]. The study involved 22 sites selected as testbeds for digital heritage applications, such as AR, VR, or multi-touch systems. The authors investigated factors that influence the successful use of the digital exhibits and patterns of behavior of the visitors in order to obtain a proper understanding of how digital culture use may be enhanced in China. [PERSON] et al. are investigating the perception of digital (based on AR, VR or digital displays) vs. physical (based on 3D printing) replicas of cultural heritage artifacts at the level of different stakeholders, both specialists and non-specialists, together with their applicability in different contexts [48]. The augmentation of museum exhibits with supplementary information (see Figure 7) helps build an \"animated archive of cultural materials\" [62], whose scope is to catalog objects alongside their descriptions and to identify multiple representations of the same object. A step forward is made in [63] by augmenting virtual replicas of cultural heritage monument visualizations with real actors interpreting historical figures using narrative-based setups.