Spatial Augmented Reality Storytelling in Arts and Culture: A Critical Review from an Interaction Design Perspective
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Spatial Augmented Reality (SAR) has evolved in the past fifteen years from a whimsical, projection-based approach to a socially nuanced medium of interpretative scholarship for culture, education, and storytelling. This paper presents a critical literature review on SAR systems and cases in arts and culture, based on 52 papers selected over the last decade. The perspective of the review is that of interaction design, which is concerned in general with the practice of designing interactive digital products, environments, systems, and services, and in particular with how the specific characteristics of a physical space, the interaction modality, and the narrative impact the design and efficacy of SAR in art and heritage contexts. This paper reports on the technology landscape, the physical contexts and scales of deployment, interaction modalities, audiences, and evaluation methods of SAR in arts and culture. Then, we present our reflections on the current state-of-the-art in terms of sketching out a historic trajectory of the field, SAR-oriented narrative design patterns, issues of inclusion and accessibility, and several design tensions, constraints, and recommendations for interaction design. Finally, we discuss potential further work in several dimensions of designing SAR for arts and culture, and we present a research agenda.
Source: Heritage
Authors: Petros Printezis, Panayiotis Koutsabasis
Institution: University of the Aegean
Language: English
Subfield: Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,930
OpenAlex ID: W7119645168