A giant pavement built in an old warehouse may make frustrating Saturday shopping crushes a thing of the past.

Scientists are using the computer-controlled surface to recreate all sorts of pedestrian nightmares.

They hope that their hi-tech sidewalk will help to identify what makes for user-friendly surfaces and streets.

The work at Pamela - the Pedestrian Accessibility & Movement Environment Laboratory - has been described at the British Association's Science Festival.

"If you think of places such as Oxford Circus around Christmas time, pedestrian capacity is a big issue," said Professor Nick Tyler of University College London.

"How much of that is just due to having too many people in the space, and how much could be improved by thinking about how that space is organised?"

The artificial pavement covers 80 square metres of floor space, and is supported by 208 mechanical legs which can change its slope and evenness.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5333936.stm