Lost at malls? Turn to shop-nav!

In fact,the gadget turns smartphones into miniature guides,leading users to the outlet they need via the quickest route,say the developers.

The engineers say that the 8220;shop-nav8221; could download a three-dimensional plan of participating buildings from the internet,using a code which can be scanned in to phones. And,from there,it will detail the layout of the shopping centre,8217;The Daily Telegraph8217; reported.

The project has been funded by the German government and the gadgets were developed by German Ministry for Education,the Stuttgart-based Institute for Manufacturing,Engineering and Automation and companies,including Bosch.

Harald von Rosenberg,project manager,said he got the idea from visiting a vast local 8220;megaplex shopping mall8221;.

8220;I thought,8217;wouldn8217;t it be helpful if at such moments the smart phone could quickly shift to an interior space navigator and point the way through the rows of shops and stairwells8217;. There has never before been a device so small that can accomplish so much.

8220;It would also be possible to apply a two-dimensional QR code on the layout plan at the entrance of the building. Users could then scan the code with their smartphone,to download the corresponding map,8221; he added.