A new kind of non-slip sole

It is a completely flat non-slip sole. However, it allows you to walk on the ice as if it were bitumen ...

 Do you see the spikes under the sprinters' shoes? It is very effective, it prevents slipping. But to walk, it's not really comfortable, because you have to keep your toes in the air. Now imagine a completely flat sole that lets out small spikes at just the right time, that is, only when the foot is likely to slip. This is what researchers from Harvard University in the United States have developed. And their goal is to share it with the elderly. You know that they can easily lose their balance, fall and hurt themselves very much. With this kind of sole, we can pass on a sheet of ice without even realizing it.

The sole must be enormous with its mechanism which makes the points come in and go out…

Not exactly. That's where it's smart. It is a small flexible metal plate from which a pattern has been cut which resembles snake scales. When the foot is flat, the sole has no roughness. But as soon as you start lifting your heel to walk, the plate will bend. This will bring out the tips, like on a cheese grater. It is the same principle that snakes use to move. They lean on their scales to hang the ground. So this is another fine example of what is called biomimicry: when technology is inspired by nature.

And will it be marketed?

 Yes. Several sole manufacturers have taken out a license. And we should especially find them on the shoes of seniors.