Walkovers are already an important way to provide safe passage over uneven rooftops, with a clear, high-grip route over cables and pipework, or around any weak parts of the roof.
However, as nanotechnology progresses in the years to come, unusual new materials could help to make walkovers even safer in high humidity and low temperatures.
Up until now, even the most water-resistant coatings have found it difficult to repel frost and ice in cold weather with high humidity.
But a team at Harvard University have created SLIPS – Slippery Liquid Infused Porous Surfaces – a nanostructured solid-liquid hybrid icephobic surface.
The science behind SLIPS is cutting edge, with a rough inner layer over which a very flat liquid layer is added, before being locked in place by a nanostructured solid.
When ice or frost forms on the surface, or when liquid lands on it as rain, the very low-friction interface means that the unwanted residue simply slips off.
The team suggest that this could have applications in avoiding ice on roofs, and on guardrails, as well as wind turbines, signs and wires.