LecceAR: an augmented reality App for cultural heritage

Augmented Reality (AR) - the augmentation of a physical world's view with digital media - has recently gained popularity thanks to the increasing computational power and diffusion of mobile devices such as tablets, and smartphones. These developments allow many practical applications of AR technology, especially in the cultural heritage domain. LecceAR is an advanced app that allows tourists to view rich 3D reconstructions of cultural heritage sites within the city of Lecce in Italy. LecceAR is an iOS app for markerless AR that will be exhibited at the MUST museum in Lecce, Italy. The app shows a rich 3D reconstruction of the Lecce Roman amphitheatre, which is only partially unearthed (see Figure 1). The use of state-of-the-art algorithms in computer graphics and computer vision allows an ancient theatre to be viewed and explored in real-time.