Towards participatory activities with augmented reality for cultural heritage: A literature review

Abstract

The preservation of cultural heritage is a basilar to support the feeling of identity and community. In this context, cultural tourism emerges as an effective strategy that, when combined with participatory activities, may increment tourist perceptions, contributing simultaneously to the acquisition of knowledge associated with cultural heritage. This literature review aimed to explore how mobile augmented reality applications using games, narrative, or craft design and convey knowledge associated with the cultural heritage of a particular place. In addition, it was intended to understand how their evaluation protocol is administered, as well as how can this genre of applications influence the tourist experience. The literature search was operationalized in the Scopus, Web of Science and ACM Digital Library electronic databases and used studies from 2018 until November 16, 2022. In total, 16 studies were analyzed in this literature review. The results demonstrate that the integration of game, narrative, and craft in augmented reality mobile applications for cultural heritage is diverse, with narrative being the most prevalent. Regarding how the evaluation phase is conducted, despite using each study using different protocols, the data collection instruments can be patterned, highlighting the use of independent questionnaires and scales. Nevertheless, the findings of this literature review suggest that augmented reality mobile applications with participatory activities can positively influence the touristic experience, constituting a powerful element of engagement and immersion, guaranteeing that some creative and technical aspects are ensured.