Rolling, rotating and imagining in a virtual mobile world

New mobile devices can be difficult to use because they give users access to powerful computing devices through small interfaces, which typically have limited input facilities. One way of overcoming these shortcomings is to think of new interaction methods that could be utilized by the user. We report in this paper on a new interaction method for mobile devices in which the user can point his or her mobile device at a building and view a virtual representation of it. In addition, the user can view the building at different times in its past and literally see it morphing into its current state. Another interesting aspect of our prototype is that as the user moves the device the view they see on their mobile interface moves with them, thus allowing the user to experience the real and the virtual world at the same time.