Latest Wearable Technology

What a City Bike Needs: Handlebars That Let You Know When to Turn

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 00:09:00 -0800

What a City Bike Needs: Handlebars That Let You Know When to Tun

Designers are transforming bikes with new tech to make it safer and easier to navigate city streets

Handlebars on the Blackline model let you know when to turn. (Photo courtesy of MNML)

By Randy Rieland

smithsonian.com
August 1, 2014

As someone who lives in a city, I often find myself watching people driving cars and people riding bikes salute each other, and not in a good way. Apparently, the “Share the Road” concept needs more work.

And yet, the number of urban cyclists keeps growing, including here in Washington D.C., where just last week two new bike lanes opened up in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue, aka “America’s Main Street.” With more Millennials gravitating toward city living and away from owning cars, the trend is only going to pick up speed.

But this raises some questions: What makes the ideal urban bike? Yes, it should be solid and easy to maneuver, but what else should it be able to do? How can a bike be re-imagined to make riding around on city streets safer and less daunting for newbie urban bikers.

That’s pretty much the challenge taken on by design teams in five different cities—San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Seattle and Portland—competing in something known as the Oregon Manifest Bike Design Project. The idea is to create a city-concept bike, but one that’s all about urban utility and is street-practical—so practical that Fuji Bikes has agreed to manufacture the winning model, as decided by online voters.

Catching a buzz
So what did the designers come up with?
For starters, smart handlebars. The team in Portland, Oregon, created a bike they named Solid, and it includes handlebars that, in response to an app on the rider’s smartphone, give him or her directions by buzzing. If a rider is supposed to turn right, that side of the handlebars starts buzzing. The buzz gets more insistent as they get closer to the turn. If they go past it, both sides of the handlebar vibrate.

The Chicago design team followed a similar tack with its model, named the Blackline after one of the city’s elevated train lines. It uses smart handlebars designed by Helios Bars, an outfit that raised more than $120,000 on Kickstarter last year. Your smartphone is linked to the bike through Bluetooth and, once you input your destination, the handlebars take over. But instead of buzzing when you need to turn, colored LED lights at each end of the handlebar start blinking, letting you know which way to go—not to mention giving drivers around you a better idea of where you’re headed.

The handlebars can also be set to speedometer mode, which means the lights change color in response to how fast you’re moving. And when you get to where you’re going, but want to make sure you don’t forget where you parked, you can shoot the bike a text and it responds by sending a Google map to your phone, pinpointing the location.

The Seattle team—they named their bike Denny—took the handlebar in a different direction. It can’t talk to a phone, but it can detach and be converted into a U-shaped bike lock.

Coffee on board

Of course, if a bike is going to be your main mode of transit, it better be able to carry stuff—a bag of groceries, coffee for you and your office mates. The New York designers took on that challenge by building an ingenious storage system in their model, which they dubbed Merge. It actually fits inside the bike’s frame, but when you need to haul something, you just pull a rear light and a spring-loaded tray pops into place behind the seat. Should you need a bungee cord, it has that, too, hidden inside another of the bike’s tubes.

The San Francisco team, meanwhile, has taken more of a plug-and-play approach. Their model, called Evo, comes with all kinds of attachments—storage racks, baskets, baby carriers—that easily connect to the front and back of the bike. When you’re done hauling, you just de-accessorize.
There are plenty of other clever features in the five bikes in the competition: A phone-charging port powered by the front wheel (Portland, New York); an onboard computer that automatically shifts gears (Seattle); and sensor-driven lights that get brighter or dimmer based on natural conditions (Portland, Seattle).

To get a look at where urban bikes are headed, check out all the models on the Bike Design Project website. You have until Sunday at noon (PST) to vote for your favorite.

Remember when the coolest thing you could do with a bike was flap a balloon in the spokes?

Feet, don’t fail me now
But why stop with bikes? A company in India has developed a shoe insole that buzzes to let you know which way to turn on whatever route you’ve chosen. The device, called the Lechal—meaning “take me along” in Hindi—connects to an app that syncs up with Google Maps, allowing the wearer to take in the view instead of burying his head in a map or hanging on Siri’s every word.

The insole, which can fit into almost any shoe you own, can also count steps and tally calories burned.

It was originally devised with the visually-impaired in mind, but the Indian company that created the Lechal, Ducere Technologies, now thinks it could have broader appeal. It’s expected to go on the market next month at a cost somewhere between $69.99

Feel the direction with Lechal

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 03:28:00 -0700

Feel the direction with Lechal

Hyderabad-based startup has developed footwear that tracks and navigates with touch sensors.

Hyderabad: Whenever we think about the wearable market space the first thing that comes to our mind is the fitness tracker either on our hand or on our smartphone. However, one Hyderabad-based company is trying its hands or do we say legs in the wearable and fitness market space. Lechal founded by Krispian Lawrence has been in existence since 2011 and started commercial sales of its product since the last one-and-a-half year.

The inception of the idea was to build footwear to help the visually impaired with the navigation, however Lawrence later realised that it could be used by anyone. The footwear works on a simple technology called Haptic which recreates the sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user.

The user just has to download the Lechal app, set a destination and wear the footwear. The sensors in the insoles, shoes or even the buckle will guide the user through vibrations. “For example if the user needs to take right, then the right shoe will vibrate and so on,” Lawrence told Telangana Today.

Krispian Lawrence.

Now, while this is a good product for the visually impaired, the company soon realised that this could be used by anyone and everyone as most of the tracking devices now either need users to be glued to their phone or listen to the directions. With Lechal, however, it aids the user through vibration. Thus began the prototyping and testing of the product and after three years of intense research, the company was able to launch its flagship product in India in 2016.

“We have shipped our product to over 70 countries and have sold more than 25,000 units of our footwear in the last one year itself. We are confident the same sales run going ahead as well,” the true blue Hyderabadi informs.

Other than just providing directions, the footwear also tracks the number of steps taken and keeps a track of the user’s fitness. And it can also be used by the family to keep track of their loved ones. Other than its own website, the product is available on Amazon and in Croma stores.

Manufacturing

While startups in India and in Hyderabad are mostly about software and apps, Lechal is one of the few product-based startups in the city. What sets it apart from many startups is the ability to manufacture everything in-house. “Starting from our hardware to software to product design to product engineering and manufacturing everything is done in-house. And we have shipped all the products from here itself,” Lawrence informs.

One of the most interesting factor about the manufacturing is that 70 per cent of its workforce in the unit are differently abled. It has a total of 120 people employees. While the major raw materials are sourced from 12 different countries, according to the specifications mentioned by the company, yet all the innovations happen here in Hyderabad.

Expansion and Investment

Going ahead, the startup – that has diversified into other segments – plans to enter into partnerships with reputed brands for not only its footwear product but also the other products. Without specifying details about the future products, Lawrence informed that they are in talks with companies in travel and hospitality space to provide them with connected devices. “In addition, we are also looking at partnering with footwear brands to co-brand with them to sell our product,” he said.

The company has so far invested $3.5 million out of which about $2.5 million was bootstrapped. Going ahead, it plans to raise more funds as it seeks more partnerships and branding.

LeChal: Hi-tech Shoes That Show the Route

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 02:46:00 -0700

LeChal: Hi-tech Shoes That Show the Route

Technology is beautiful, especially when it comes to the aid of the differently abled. For instance, with LeChal, visually impaired people can travel anywhere without guidance from others. LeChal is basically a smart shoe that harnesses the visually challenged’s heightened senses of touch. It enables them to travel by themselves with the help of vibrational patterns on their feet. This haptic-driven smart shoe has been produced by Secunderabad-based Ducere Technologies.

How a thought took shape

The LeChal package

Back in 2012, Krispian Lawrence and Anirudh Sharma, two tinkerers with the common objective to help the visually challenged, came up with the idea of a smart shoe. The fact that the visually challenged are gifted with heightened senses of touch and hearing became their basis for designing something that could intuitively guide the user through gentle vibratory feedback by connecting to the directions set on a map. The thought process started in May 2012. In July of the same year, Sharma went ahead for further education, while Lawrence drove the project. The product was ready in 2016 and called ‘LeChal.’

“LeChal as a concept came about as a solution to allowing one’s senses to be utilised in the most efficient way. The thought led to identifying how to help the visually impaired to navigate in a way that their sense of touch (walking stick) or their sense of hearing (audio guidance) are not compromised,” explains Lawrence. The first shipment of the product was made in July 2016. The four years in between were utilised for development, prototyping and upgradations to bring out what LeChal is today.

Against all odds

Being a hardware product start-up, Ducere Technologies faced challenges different from software developers and service providers, in addition to the pressure of venturing into an unexplored field. The hardware ecosystem is not conducive for startups in India. So, putting together a team of people with compatible talent and ready to work for a startup project took much effort. Adding to the troubles was limited funding. The project was bootstrapped until it received angel funds. Despite all these hardships, the company has grown to become 120-employee strong today and drives sales through its own website as well as online and offline retail partners.

Team LeChal

How LeChal works

Before getting into the basics of LeChal, let’s first explain in simple words how haptic technologies work. Haptic technologies take data from a source and use tactile (touch-based) sensors to respond to it in the form of vibrations or touch-based sensations on the user. LeChal follows this basic principle to work.
LeChal has three iterations: the complete shoe form, a pair of insoles with a pair of sensor pods, and only the pods. The pods contain the main haptic sensors. These can either be buckled to the existing shoe-laces of the user or inserted into the insoles provided by LeChal that replace the existing insoles of the user’s shoes. The sensors connect to the user’s smartphone via Bluetooth. Users need to download the LeChal mobile application on their smartphone or tablet. The application provides a GPS (map) interface to set the desired destination via touchscreen or even via voice command, powered by the LeChal assist service. It connects to the Bluetooth-linked pods and relays data to generate haptic sensations.
The pods feed the navigation data in real time as the user starts travelling, and send signals in the form of various vibratory patterns to indicate directions of travel. For example, gentle vibrations on the left leg imply left turn and vibrations on the right leg imply right turn. Vibration patterns can be customised as per the convenience of the user.
Most importantly, maps can be downloaded and saved to the phone or tablet before use and the connection is Bluetooth driven (as mentioned before), so there is no problem of poor network connectivity or data unavailability.

How LeChal works

Expanding horizons

Initially aimed for the visually challenged, LeChal is finding other consumers as well. Lawrence states, “At this point, along with the visually challenged, our product has proven to be appealing to people who travel a lot. Fitness enthusiasts also show a keen interest in the product because of the extremely accurate measurement of fitness metrics. Last but not the least, we have managed to captivate the imagination of technophiles as well.”
The product has caught the eyes of enterprises also, collaborating with brands like Netherlands-based Hi Tec., and won acclaims and awards at global level. Presently, there are 24 patents on trademark applications for the product. Plans are afoot to improve LeChal in terms of comfort of use, features and functionality.

Where to find it

Priced at ₹ 6999, LeChal can be purchased from the company’s official website. It is also available on e-commerce stores like Amazon and retail stations like Croma. According to the company, over 10,000 units have been sold till now. So, take a break from constantly looking at your phone’s screen to know which way to go. After all, products like LeChal are eyes to your feet.

Footwear that also track and navigate

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 02:43:00 -0700

Footwear that also track and navigate

Indian start-up Lechal is now selling fitness insoles and buckles for footwear that track actual foot movement

Lechal smart insoles and buckles

Rs6,999

Tracking the number of steps walked in a day and calculating the calories burnt in the process has become the favourite pastime of many a fitness enthusiast. There are many fitness bands that help track such activity, and remain paired with your smartphone. But Indian start-up Lechal is now selling fitness insoles and buckles for footwear that may provide a more accurate way of tracking movement because it actually only detects foot movement and not hand movement (fitness bands on wrists approximate distance walked through motion-detection tech and various sensors).

This rather unique wearable works with any footwear and pairs with your smartphone—and apart from fitness tracking, it can also assist in navigation. Globally, a few brands make smart soles for footwear, but we are yet to come across a comparable rival product in India.

What you get is a pair of insoles for your shoes, and buckles that can be laced up with your footwear—you can use either with any footwear, or deploy each on different pairs of shoes.The insoles can be cut to fit your shoe.

The critical part of the entire package are the two pods, which are fitted with sensors that track movement and location. These pods have rechargeable batteries (a dock is provided for charging) and pair with the Lechal app (free for Android and iOS) on your phone. The app also lets you configure each of these pods for the leg it’ll be worn on and the shoe type.

The insoles have a docking mechanism in which you can fit the pods—this is directly under the foot arch. You won’t even realize the pods are there. You’ll need to be careful, however, about the sports shoe you use them in. For they do add some bulk under your foot, pushing the foot itself more towards the top of the shoe. If you are wearing one of the newer-gen sock-like sports shoes (such as the Nike Free 3.0 Flyknit), the soles might not fit well. But if it’s the more conventional designs (such as the Nike Air Zoom series), they do. Alternatively, you can install the buckles with the shoelaces, and dock the pods on those—this works beautifully with almost any shoe.

The biggest advantage of these wearables is that the pods track actual foot movement, unlike fitness bands which sometimes also mistake random hand gestures for walking. Through the app, you can start workouts and set targets—the pods vibrate once you achieve the goal.

Battery life is a strong point (the pods last about 12 days on a single charge). Navigation is quite uniquely handled too. Just punch in the location you’re heading for in the app and keep the phone in your pocket—the pods will vibrate on the right or left foot, to indicate the direction you need to take.
While these unique wearables don’t come cheap, they do have two distinct advantages—they are accurate in tracking movement, and they remain out of the way. The navigation capabilities are a rather nice addition.

The Haptic Smart Shoes That Lead The Way

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 02:26:00 -0700

Great ideas are all around you, and more often than not, your best designs will be born out of necessity. A drive to provide a solution to a problem that exists in your society. For Krispian Lawrence and Anirudh Sharm, they wanted to create smart shoes that would be an improvement on walking and navigation aids for the visually impaired. Through Ducere Technologies, a start-up they founded in 2011, they launched Lechal (pronounced lay-ch-al, which is “take me there” in Hindi). It’s a haptic footwear device, which uses vibrations at your feet to allow users to navigate directions. Their primary target is the visually impaired, which WHO (World Health Organisation) estimates to be approximately 285 million globally and the majority mostly being in India. Nevertheless, they also wanted to make an inclusive device that serves the community at large. It took five years, 15 prototypes, a core team of over a 100, and countless hours of hard work sprinkled with a few eureka moments, to make the Lechal. And this is how they made an all-inclusive product:

[Image: Ducere Technologies / Lechal]

Primary Focus
The Indian wearable tech start-up began at reviewing the options available. The white cane, which is the most common, tends to fall short when it comes to orientation, direction and navigation. On the other hand, most assistive devices on the market use audio as their form of feedback. Seeing as the visually challenged rely heavily on their hearing, constant audio feedback may be a distraction to how they acquaint themselves with their surrounding environment. For a more unobtrusive approach, the duo decided to turn to touch; another sense that is highly developed due to their impairment.

Through an interactive, haptic based navigational system, the user can be invisibly but intuitively guided to their destination through gentle vibrations in their shoes.

Through an interactive, haptic based navigational system, the user can be invisibly but intuitively guided to their destination through gentle vibrations in their shoes. The user would set the destination on their phone, and using the phone’s GPS, it calculates the location data to convey directions. Once the shoes are synched to the Lechal app via Bluetooth, haptics are initiated to show the user the way. If the wearer needs to turn left, the left foot would sense vibrations while a right turn would get the right shoe buzzing.

[Image: Ducere Technologies / Lechal]

What is in a Lechal Pack?
Lechal comes as black or red shoes that retail at $100-$150. But with the inclusivity element in mind, it also comes as an insole and buckles that you can fit into most closed shoes. The insoles have a docking mechanism that fits pods directly under the foot arch. Alternatively, you can dock the pods on the buckles that attach to the laces; opening up the variety of shoes this can work with. It’s these two pods that track movement and location, as well as, pair with the Lechal app. Through the app, you can configure each pod for the shape type and the leg it’ll be worn on.

The pods also work on offline and outdoor navigation modes, allowing the user to move around without data connectivity. It comes with a rechargeable battery that slide into the very back of the insole or behind the shoe’s heel. The battery lasts 15 days and is referred to as the “world’s first interactive charger” because with a snap of your fingers, it audibly communicates the battery’s charge level. And if the insole is too big for your shoe size, it can easily be trimmed along the marked size guidelines.

Wearable Tech Benefits
Lechal wants you to look up. To really take in the world around you with all your senses, instead of looking at your phone all day. So it’s intentionally designed to be sleek, minimalistic and comfortable to seamlessly blend into your lifestyle. Thus, In addition to directions, Lechal works for users who desire fitness metrics. It keeps track of calories burnt, steps taken, and distance covered. However, Lechal wants to give its users a more holistic workout by providing accurate analytics. Unlike other fitness bands that monitor hand movement and thus approximate distance covered via motion-detection, Lechal only detects foot movement. So, it won’t pick up the random hand gestures as part of your fitness data.

Lechal also dares users to strive for more. Therefore fitness enthusiasts can set goals, such as calories or distance oriented goals, and the pods will vibrate once you’ve hit the goal. The benefit of keeping a log of all your fitness activities and goal wish list, is it can even suggest routes based on your fitness metrics to help you achieve your fitness objectives. Because they want it to be a hands-free experience, there’s the option of setting mini-milestone goals throughout you routine that will vibrate once you’ve achieved one. And if you don’t want to take your phone on your next run, you can switch on the untethered mode, which will store the fitness data in your pods until you get back into proximity with your phone. But if you can’t live without your smartphone you can program your footwear to alert you if you’re leaving the house without it.

Got wanderlust in your bones? This piece of tech is perfect for you. Travellers can spend more time taking in all the new scenery and leave the navigation to their feet. Before setting out, there’s the option of marking places of interest, such as restaurants, ATMs and historical landmarks, on your phone. It’s also helpful to mark multiple stops you’d like to make before your final destination using Lechal’s waypoint reminders. This way, it can send reminders or notifications when you’re close or at these specific vicinities. Going to a place that isn’t Wi-Fi complaint, save your destinations pre-travel and you’ll be able to access them via the offline mode.

And for the real explorers out there, you can discover the road less travelled and record the trail. If you’ve ever had to use Google maps outside of the urban areas, you know how important a feature like this can be. It essentially gives the user the power to create their own travel guide that they can use to find their way back to camp and store for future use. Sharing is caring, and this app enables users to share their locations with other users. So if you’re travelling in a big group you can keep track of all your members. This feature may be of particular interest to parents and families when they’re out and about with their children.

[Image: Ducere Technologies / Lechal]

For most, $150 can be a steep order. Ducere Technologies acknowledges this and explains that higher sales of Lechal footwear would considerably lower their cost. This is because they have already dedicated a portion of the sale proceeds to subsidizing pairs for the visually challenged. They’re also thinking about the future of the Lechal app for all consumers. They’re working on a software development kit (SDK) that will make their custom software a platform for other developers to create apps for their product.

Pod placement [Image: Ducere Technologies / Lechal]

That said, Lechal is an impressive addition to the footwear industry. It’s an inclusive design that puts a lot of thought into solving problems and responding to the needs of today’s society. By aiming to be a natural extension of the user, each person can navigate ‘hands-free, hassle-free and with their heads up’! It’s a perfect example of designing with purpose.

Lechal: The Haptic Smart Shoes That Lead The Way

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Thu, 28 Sep 2017 02:08:00 -0700

[Image: Ducere Technologies / Lechal]

Through an interactive, haptic based navigational system, the user can be invisibly but intuitively guided to their destination through gentle vibrations in their shoes.

[Image: Ducere Technologies / Lechal]

The futuristic smart shoe

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 03:42:00 -0700

If you came here hoping to find a piece on some new brogues or loafers, prepare to be disappointed. These are smart shoes, but not in the formal sense.

Rather than bolting yet more brains to your watch or glasses, Lechal is looking to make your shoe the most intelligent section of your wardrobe.

Hiding in the sole of this sleek-looking slip-on is an instep of unparalleled technology. The Lechal's insole communicates with its accompanying smart phone app via Bluetooth, supplying you with all the fitness metrics you'd expect of a smart watch: footsteps and distances are recorded, along with a record of the calories you've burnt while on-foot or bike.

So far, so normal. Where the shoes get really clever is in how they communicate with the wearer. By inputting a destination into Lechal's app, the shoes can direct you with simple haptic feedback: left foot vibrating? Take the next left turn. Both feet vibrating? You've reached your destination. Put the shoes in roam mode and allow them to take you to nearby landmarks or sites of interest. Are the insoles giving you a bizarre massage? They're trying to tell you you left your phone back at the café.

Also available as an insole to slip into your existing shoes with a battery pack built into the heel, Lechal are hoping to make a significant difference to the lives of partially sighted and blind people, helping them traverse urban centres with new freedom.

Currently available in Amazon.com, you can find out more on the Lechal website.

Five futuristic trends shaping tourism

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 02:44:00 -0700

Five futuristic trends shaping tourism

World

Five futuristic trends shaping tourism

Euronews

last updated: 16/08/2017

The tourism industry is moving leaps and bounds to help us see the world in a whole new light, and ideas that were once seen as the material of science-fiction are fast becoming the new normal in 2017. These innovative ideas and projects, which are often now just around the corner, should have you awe-struck about the future of globe-trotting. Here are a number of futuristic trends in travel and tourism that could soon be the present when it comes to booking your next trip.

DNA Analysis

While once upon a time, a trip abroad would be the opportunity to indulge your hedonistic side with continental cuisine and fine wines – many people now see their fitness regime as something that can’t be left behind on the runway.
No one is currently pushing fitness holidays into the future like 38 Degrees North – a fitness company operating from the plush 5-star ME hotel in Ibiza.
Their ‘DNA Fitness’ programme uses a mere saliva swab to build a four-day fitness and nutrition programme that is built specifically around your genetic profile.
The hard-work of boxing, pilates, yoga, and lessons in nutrition is all offset by the natural beauty of the Spanish island and the genetic breakdown of your body is sure to leave a lasting legacy on your exercise plans.

VR time travel

The use of virtual and augmented reality as a way of ‘trying before you buy’ when it comes to holiday breaks is something that many companies have been playing around with for a while – but a number of projects are looking to take that a step further.
One of the most ambitious is The Time Machine FET Flagship from the European Commission, which is collecting 2000 years worth of data on European history in an attempt to build a historical simulator that could put the past in front of your eyes using VR technology.
Imagine making your way up the banks of the river Tiber in modern day Rome, before being transported back to a bustling market of the ancient empire, or going back through the construction of Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia. This project is tapping into some of Europe’s most impressive archives to make that a real possibility.

Ancestral holidays

Tapping into the past using the technology of the future –DNA testing is an industry becoming vastly more accessible and that some are predicting will be worth over €285 million by 2020.
The potential of tracing your genealogy across the world has already been explored by travel insurance site World Nomads, who partnered with genealogy researchers ancrestry.com to offer an all-paid holiday for one person to explore their genealogy and discover the land of their ancestors with a tailored trip.
The winner from Oregon, USA was sent across the world to South Korea to discover her Mother’s family line and it’s easy to see this genetic approach to picking destinations becoming more than just a one-off in the future.

Future Smart Shoes

New holiday shoes are a must for many looking for a break away, but what if those shoes could act as your tour guide too?
‘Smart shoes’ is a technology initially designed by Indian company Lechal as a way of tracking fitness, mapping out runs and being directed by vibrations instead of having to resort to pulling out your smartphone.
It’s easy to see where this wearable tech solution could step from athletics into tourism – gently guiding city visitors from their hotel to a number of must-see city landmarks across Paris, Tokyo or New York.

Hyperloop Hotels

While these futuristic trends have covered picking your destination and traveling through it, there’s still the hotel experience to consider.
The Radical Innovation Award encourages designers to consider exactly that, with the award as a celebration of big ideas for the hotel industry.
2017’s entries lived up to its name, with the student winner being University of Nevada graduate Brandan Siebrecht, who came up with the idea of the Hyperloop Hotel.
This pressurized tube will connect to 13 cities across America at incredible speeds using Elon Musk’s Hyperloop One network, all while the guest rests up in their luxury suite complete with bedroom, bathroom and living room with flat-screen TV.
The Hyperloop Hotel may sound like a pipe dream but it could be a reality as soon as 2020, according to designers.

Walk this way

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Tue, 4 Jul 2017 00:24:00 -0700

The Lechal smart insoles work as a fitness tracker and aids in navigation as well

In The Wizard Of Oz , Dorothy owns a pair of magic slippers that help transport her from Oz to her home in Kansas. Imagine getting hold of a set of magic shoes, that would guide you to your destination without you having to hit Google Maps. The Lechal smart insoles, which translate to “let’s go” in English, have been crafted by an Indian company that does not use magic; instead, it provides navigation via vibrations on your feet.

Lechal insoles use haptic feedback and GPS technology to keep you going in the right direction. It’s the latest addition in the age of wearable technology, where a clutch of devices, from Fitbits to smart T-shirts, sensors that provide you instant information on your workout routine, your calorie intake, heart rate and so forth, seem to have overrun the planet. The Lechal insoles are essentially a pair of rectangular wearable pods that can be attached to the soles of your shoes. It works with an app that you can download on your phone. The app calibrates with the pods and helps you track steps and aids in navigation.

The pods come with a charging docket. The battery life of the pods is almost a week of regular usage—quite impressive in this day of energy-sucking apparatus. The product is an add-on to the device that was initially created to help visually-impaired people navigate city roads.
Once we got rid of our irrational fear of getting electrocuted, we discovered that the pods are rather helpful. The map feature on the app helps you pick a destination and gives you the estimated distance to the place. Once you manage to sync the pods with the app, it will use mild vibrations on your feet to aid you in navigation. So imagine yourself walking down a road. Now you need to turn left—your device will vibrate on the left foot. It takes a little getting used to, but you do, eventually.

In our review device, the navigation was fairly functional and worked well, vibrating slightly, depending on the direction. Unlike a Fitbit, that you glance at every once in a while to check your exercise status, this is much more helpful, as it remains inside your shoe and offers less scope for distractions. However, the syncing process was a tad less satisfactory. Often, the Android version of the app would stop syncing and start searching for the pods. At times, we were forced to bring the phone very close to the soles for syncing.

Another issue we faced was that the insoles seemed too large for our shoes and the pods often got disconnected from the soles. The thickness of the insoles also took some time to get used to. We eventually junked the insoles and attached the pods to the soles in front of the laces.

As far as wearables go, the Lechal insoles are not very expensive and are fairly decent for regular usage, though I could not see much help in navigation, apart from offering help in directions. However, one would hope that the company will add more features and make the insoles a little less thick for simpler use, apart from crafting a user-friendly manual as well.

Getting smarter
Smart shoe is an insole that is placed into a pair of shoes. The pre-programmed insole is able to connect to a smartphone via bluetooth and an application in order to select a destination and navigate the user.

Wearable that lasts long

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 22:31:00 -0700

Wearable that lasts long

Wearable navigation technologies are on an ascendance in a market that is still small and has not many products on offer. This means that you will be hard-pressed to find a pair that fits your style and comfort quotient, while various shoes might not be of comfort to you. This is where Lechal comes in. Brought together in the form of an insole, you can slip Lechal into your favourite pair of shoes. What is more, Lechal does not require you to check your smartphone screen constantly for directions. This means huge power saving on your device and hence a longer battery life for your navigation technology. Lechal is a saviour in that it allows you to transfer the brain app from one shoe to the other shoe. This means that the user stays connected to GPS navigation irrespective of the attire.
As a wearable technology, Lechal makes use of low power haptic feedback vibrations and GPS tracking to keep you on the track. Lechal allows users to tag places of interest and see the previous places attended by the user. Light vibration in your left or your right foot will prompt you about the directions that you need to take. The vibration patterns required for turning and the various kinds of rerouting are coded into the Lechal app. The app also allows you to set specific waypoints on the route, so that when the user reaches a destination, he/she receives notification via haptic feedback. The app can work in the offline mode since it stores all the required map data before hand. This feature is quite helpful when the user plans on traveling abroad.
Lechal insoles are usable together with the app to record data on the GPS map. Therefore, if you see a place of interest along the way you only have to tap the ground with your toes once. This is enough to tag the place. Once tagged, you can share the location with friends via your phone and follow your friends in real time by the app.
It also allows users to track their fitness levels in great precision with a pedometer, distance, and calorie count.
Features:

Navigate with your hands off your phone.
Put the insoles in your shoes and receive turn-by-turn directions through vibrations in your insoles.
Precise fitness tracking through steps taken, calories, and distance.
It has on offer complete fitness navigation that allows youto pick your routes as per the stats your previous performance generated.
Lechal app allows multiple person co-ordination so that you can set targets and compete with friends.
Lechal allows data synchronization with fitness apps.

In all, Lechal has proved itself to be is more than just a gadget. The wearable technology stays with you under all conditions. Lossless and damage proof, with great battery life and offline capability, Lechal is a complete delight for those who want to walk, ride, or drive around the world hands free, eyes free and care free.

Wearable Tech Is The New Smartphone

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 22:13:00 -0700

Wearable Tech Is The New Smartphone

Why shove it in your pocket when you can wear it? We won’t be surprised if you’ve ditched some everyday devices in favour of these feature-laden gadgets, some of which let you book cabs with a mere twist of the wrist. There’s even some that can be slipped into shoes, or worn to shade your eyes from the sun, or experience reality in its virtual form.

Apple Watch Series 2

After the first Watch, people expected the Apple Watch Series 2 to have a big enough upgrade. So does it pack all the punches that could make it a necessity, rather than a luxury? Yes and no. Yes, because there are various tech upgrades that we wanted, including a new waterresistant design, a GPS chip on board for tracking your runs, a swim tracker and a much faster processor. The expensive gold variant of the Watch is now replaced by a new white ceramic finish, while the Hermes band reappears to send the cost of the top-spec model further north (now you know about the ‘no’).
Rs 21,900 on amazon.in

PlayStation VR

Sony has been the pioneer of video gaming globally over the past decade or so, and is now planning to take on the likes of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive in the virtual reality space. Its own headset, the PS VR, requires a gaming console, unlike the devices in competition that work on PCs or with smartphones. The headset is also much cheaper than its rivals and comes across as a robust piece of hardware. It will work only with a PS4 console, which is its drawback.
Rs 39,900 on amazon.in

GOQii Heart Tracker

The Californian company wants the heart rate tracking of their latest fitness band to be its biggest selling point, but we feel that it’s got much more to offer. It comes with an optional personal coaching subscription, which assigns you an individual trainer to keep you on your toes through the synced GOQii smartphone app every day. This is great if you’re in real need of motivation, but not so much if you don’t like getting nagged too much. That said, the band will also keep a track of your heart rate, daily steps, calories burned, distance covered, active hours and sleep patterns. What we especially loved about the band is that it needs no separate charger. The detachable core can be plugged into any power source via its USB integrated charger, and it lasts for more than a week on a full charge. Also worth mentioning is a decent sized screen that displays Whatsapp, SMS, Email and call notifications.
Rs 2,999 on amazon.in

Lechal insoles

Developed in India, these wearables function in a unique way. Two pods slot into the bottom of the insoles (which can be cut to your foot size) and connect via Bluetooth to the Lechal app on your smartphone, which has a GPS navigation feature. Once installed in your shoes, the left and right pods buzz depending on which way you have to turn, in a series of patterns that can be quickly learned, thus saving you from having to peer at your phone’s screen all the time. Importantly, the insoles allow visually challenged users to fully take in their environment aurally, without having to grapple with audio instructions on a conventional GPS system. The app also tracks the steps you’ve taken, the distance you’ve travelled and the calories you’ve burned. The pods have a claimed life of 15 days on each charge.
Rs 6,999 on amazon.in

Fitbit Charge 2

This sleek wearable has a number of useful features, at a price that isn’t stratospheric. Being from the Fitbit family, you can connect with other Fitbit-wearing friends and challenge yourselves to achieve fitness goals. The device itself tracks your heart rate, steps, distance travelled, floors climbed, sleep patterns, calories burned and number of active minutes, among others. You can also keep track of your fluid and calorie intake, set silent alarms (the unit buzzes on your wrist), see call/text/calendar notifications, practice deep breathing with a timed function and set different workout modes, apart from telling the time.
Rs 14,999 on amazon.in

Snapchat Spectacles

Snapchat (now Snap Inc) sprung one of the biggest surprises of the year after announcing its entry into hardware. The company’s first venture in this space are the Spectacles, which are essentially sunglasses with an embedded camera. They allow users to easily capture moments in their lives and then wirelessly save them to the app’s Memories feature. Just like the smartphone application that they originate from, the modern-day lure of the spectacles remain a mystery – but against the new features of Instagram Stories, the challenges keep mounting for Snap. Nonetheless, they exude a certain charm and also have a sense of swag about them, from the design to the cute robots you buy them from. So if you want to experiment with your specs next time you buy a pair, you know what to do.
Rs 15,700 on amazon.in

Lechal Partners With Croma to Boost Sales in India

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 05:30:00 -0700

Lechal Partners With Croma to Boost Sales in India

“Lechal to be now available at Croma stores across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad”

LECHAL, the world’s first haptic-based interactive insoles today announced its partnership with Tata-owned consumer durables retail chain – Croma for its offline distribution. Priced at INR 6,999, Lechal unisex insoles will be available at all Croma outlets across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad. This alliance will also foray Lechal’s first ever offline distribution in India.

Speaking on the partnership with Croma, Krispian Lawrence, Founder and CEO, Ducere Technologies said “We are happy to announce our partnership with Croma, one of the biggest consumer durable retail chains in the country. Earlier this year we announced our partnership with Amazon Launchpad to boost our online sales and now with Croma to expand our reach to a wider consumer base. With union of these two big alliances this year, we truly believe to have a balanced business outcome.”

Lechal is one of its kind wearable technology product that is GPS navigated that helps one track their direction, keeps a record for their route and checks their fitness levels. The stylish smart insoles can slip into footwear like any other. By pairing the insoles with the Lechal app to track Maps via Bluetooth, the user can set a destination and receive directions via haptic vibrations on his/her feet making any journey truly hands-free. The Lechal app is available on both android & IOS enabled devices.

ET Recommendations: Smart interactive insoles with navigation guidance

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Fri, 7 Apr 2017 02:38:00 -0700

ET Recommendations: Smart interactive insoles with navigation guidance

Lechal: Smart interactive insoles

Get It For: Rs 6,999

Everyone seems to be wearing fitness bands and pedometers these days but here’s a different take from an Indian company called Ducere Technologies. Lechal (take me along; in Hindi) is a pair of smart insoles that can track fitness levels and also provide navigation guidance using vibration. The box has two battery operated pods (one for each shoe), a charger (the pods have to be placed in it to charge them) and the insoles that you insert into the shoes.

The insoles have a slot underneath where the pod fits in. Length/width can be trimmed (with a pair of scissors) to fit different kind of shoes. They’re washable and anti-bacterial. Typically, you should remove the insoles that came with your shoe for a more comfortable fit. Needless to say, Lechal works best with sports shoes that have some amount of cushioning inside. If you find the insoles too uncomfortable after a while (we did — because we could feel the pod digging into the arch of the foot), you can always wear the pods in a buckle attached to your shoelaces. The buckle is pretty secure though the downside is the vibration is not as strong as opposed to when you have it under your foot.

When you get the app and set it up, you can start tracking fitness data. As for navigation, the app has HERE Maps integrated. You enter a destination and it will start guiding you: a vibration in your left foot means you have to turn left and so on. The app also keeps track of daily fitness/activity levels and history. They will vibrate to let you know when you reach your goal.

Battery life is about 5 to 7 days which is good considering the small size. To recharge the pods, you will need to remove them from the shoes, slide them into the charging dock (orientation is not important) and plug in a micro USB cable. The whole system is certainly innovative but there is limited use beyond the step tracking and navigation (while walking). That being said, we certainly applaud the innovation and are interested in seeing what uses the makers can come up with next for the pods.

Super Planet Defender
Game for Android & iOS
Get It For: Free

Super Planet Defender is a survival shooter game. The game puts you on top of a planet in space and you have to shoot incoming comets in order to protect the planet from destruction. The gameplay is simple: your character automatically shoots and you just need to control his movement in a circular path around the planet. As you progress through the levels, the comets become faster and bigger. You'll need more bullets to destroy them, coupled with some quick thinking. You also get a number of weapon upgrades but they have to be unlocked as your play through the levels.

The graphics are easy on the eyes and the sound effects/music have a retro theme. Full-screen ads in the game that appear each game — these can be removed with an in-app purchase of Rs 80.

Quadro
App for iOS
Get It For: Free

This free app makes it easy for you to control your Windows or MAC computer using your iPhone or iPad. As a setup, you need to install the QuadroSync desktop application on your computer and make sure that the computer and iOS device are connected to the same wi-fi network (or via direct USB connection).

Once you are through with the setup, you will see tiles on your smartphone screen to control various parts of your system with a single tap. For instance, you can launch an app, close windows, navigate through the app’s functions and so on. The tiles change dynamically depending on the app open on the desktop.

This full version of Quadro lets you customize and create new interfaces as per your preference, automate functions, type from your phone on the computer and connect multiple devices to a single computer for input. — Karan Bajaj

Turn any Shoes into Smart Shoes with Lechal GPS Insoles

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Mon, 26 Dec 2016 01:14:00 -0800

Turn any Shoes into Smart Shoes with Lechal GPS Insoles

Smart shoes are getting some traction in the market and this has lead most of us to go and hunt for one. But unlike smartwatch and trackers, one cannot change the bands and has to wear the same shoes every time. Well, Lechal smart insoles are here to solve this problem by developing an insole that will make any shoes smart. This means that you can swap the insoles from one shoe to another without worrying about buying multiple smart shoes and at the outset, this seems like a wise and economic option. Wondering what Lechal means, well it means “take me along” in Hindi.

The Lechal insoles make use of GPS, haptic feedback along with an array of other sensors in order to determine your fitness level and also show the places you have been to. That’s not all, by pairing the soles with the app one can also get signals on where to go, this means that you no more need to pull out your phone to access the GPS. This is how the guidance works, in case you are supposed to take a left turn the insole sends specific vibrations to your feet. The vibrations are unique for each type of signals including turns and rerouting.

Moreover, the app also lets you set milestones or checkpoints and after crossing each one of them the soles will vibrate. This feature will go a long way in motivating the users to achieve fitness goals. Also, you can download offline maps and use the entire functionality of the GPS features without having to rely on connectivity. The companion app also lets you mark certain places of interest while you are taking your morning walk or maybe you can share the coordinates with your friends. In a nutshell, the Lechal Insoles records your exact path of travel and will also ensure you can do many things en route. One can charge the inserts by plugging in a USB cable.

Beyond the tracking functionality the soles also offer step count, calories burnt, and a notification for every milestone you set. The maker of Lechal insoles touts the step counter feature as very accurate and if it says 10,000 steps it means 10,000 steps. The Lechal Smart Insoles are already up on the Amazon Launchpad and can be purchased at $180 (Rs 6,999) a pair. The companion app is available for both iOS and Android.

Lechal insoles use GPS, haptic feedback to make any pair of shoes smart

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 20:27:00 -0800

Lechal insoles use GPS, haptic feedback to make any pair of shoes smart

Smart shoes are a small market right now. As a result, you may be hard-pressed to find a pair that fits your style. And wearing different shoes to match an outfit means you lose the smart features. The Lechal smart insoles solve that problem by allowing you to transfer the brains from shoe to shoe. Now you can stay connected no matter the attire.

Lechal insoles use haptic feedback and GPS technology to keep you going in the right direction, show you where you’ve been, track your fitness levels, and more. By connecting with the Lechal app on your phone, your feet can tell you where to go as the app sends specific vibrations to your foot. This means less time staring at your phone, and more time focused on the world around you.

More: Pair Lechal with these smart shoes for the ultimate piece of tech

For instance, as you approach an upcoming turn, a slight vibration in your left or right foot will tell you all you need to know. There are unique vibration patterns for different kinds of turns and even for rerouting. With the app, you can also set specific waypoints along the route. As you reach each destination, the insoles will notify you. They can also be used offline to download maps beforehand. This is extremely helpful when going on a hike or traveling abroad.

Lechal insoles can also be used in tandem with the app to record data. See something of interest along the way? You can tag these locations for later use or send a location directly to a friend for a meetup. Or maybe you found a new trail or faster walk through the city. You can record the exact path for future excursions.

Another great use for the insole is tracking fitness. Set a goal using the Lechal app for any distance, step count, or calories to burn. The insoles will vibrate once you’ve reached your goal. As a step counter, you can’t get much more accurate than a sensor under your foot. When it says 10,000 steps, it means 10,000 steps.

You can purchase the Lechal Smart Insoles from the Amazon Launchpad program. Each pair of insoles are unisex and can be purchased for $180. The associated app can be downloaded for any iOS or Android device.

What Amazon Launchpad says about Indian innovators

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 22:24:00 -0800

As the social stigma associated with risk-taking recedes, product start-ups are getting quirkier than ever before

Insoles that double up as fitness trackers (bottom left) is among the line-up for Amazon Launchpad.

A shiny white sphere speaker floating magically above its magnetic base like a spacecraft hovering above earth. Insoles that double up as fitness trackers. An automatic dosa maker. The line-up for Amazon Launchpad, a curated collection of products from start-ups now available on the Amazon India website, provides a quick snapshot of innovators. India head Amit Agarwal says the timing seemed right because we’re finally more encouraging of risk-taking; the social stigma associated with it is slowly receding. Product start-ups are quirkier than ever before.

If you’re a technology writer you may not think these products are edgy enough to include in your year-end gifting guide (can anything compete with the latest offering from Bose?). If you’re me, it’s a great place to see what tech-savvy India is conjuring up for city slickers. If you don’t care about gizmos and if you’re not from south India, there’s always the “ready-to-use filter coffee decoction”, also listed as a unique product from a start-up. If you’re a cynic (you prefer realist, I know), you believe that the idea and execution of most Indian tech products continues to rely heavily on China.

You might be occasionally surprised.

Wearable tech pioneer Ducere Technologies, which produces Lechal insoles and buckles that can turn your shoes into smart shoes, first experimented with producing in China. Now their assembly line is based in Hyderabad. “India is a fantastic place for up to a million units a year,” says co-founder Krispian Lawrence. “You control your entire item, nobody else knows what the entire product is and you control quality.”

If you’re an entrepreneur and angel investor like Sharad Sharma, you will promptly point out that the real innovation is happening not in your India (of 50 million families with an household income of more than $7,400, or about Rs5 lakh) but in another India (of 100 million families whose annual income lies somewhere from $3,300-3,400 and one that is on the cusp of entering the formal economy). “This is where the real action is. Launchpad will be important three years from now when it can penetrate this other India,” he says. If you dream the digital dream as Sharma does, connectivity equals creditworthiness equals overnight access to a virgin market. Here, innovators focus on areas such as health and education (an inexpensive RO water filter, for example), because that’s what people want to improve first when they have money to invest.

If you’re an innovator creating for urban India, you’re just grateful that someone’s finally assisting you to get the word out about your amazing-but-unheard-of product to a large number of people. Since Amazon has tied up with key groups in the start-up ecosystem, it’s easy enough to qualify if your product is of a certain standard (and for a monthly fee of Rs5,000). You must also fulfil other criteria, such as proving to Amazon that you can meet deadlines.

It’s not easy to meet deadlines in modern India, especially when your shipment dates happen to coincide with the early days of demonetisation and the death of J. Jayalalithaa, the chief minister of the state where you assemble and test your product. Somnath Meher, co-founder of Witworks, the start-up that created the smartwatch Blink (with its own operating system Marvin), recalls the delay when these events occurred in tandem.

He says that though lots of students tinker and make things, there are no role models for product start-ups that have managed to scale operations successfully. “We’re still very service and software driven. Even when we were raising funds, we were told: ‘You seem sensible enough, why don’t you solve this last mile problem for delivery? Why do you want to make products?’.”

Some entrepreneurs get past this block by telling a story that goes beyond the product. Vishal Gondal, founder and chief executive officer of GOQii (pronounced Go-Key), knew that it would be difficult to convince connected Indians to buy his Made in China fitness band over any other well known brand. So he offered buyers a personal trainer subscription plan with the device. “We built a health ecosystem and opted for the service model over the hardware sale model,” he says.

Amazon helped Gondal spread the news much before Launchpad, and the newer start-ups listed are likely to take inspiration from GOQii. Sharma points out that other recent changes in the start-to-finish cycle have also helped product start-ups. It’s easier to raise funds now thanks to the rising popularity of crowdsourcing websites such as Kickstarter. The growth of the Maker movement across India and the setting up of fully-loaded tech shops where innovators can prototype their products and interact with likeminded folks has had an impact too.

Aditya Agrawal, co-founder of ICE, a company that makes the quirky Ice Orb Floating Bluetooth Speaker, says they got the idea from friends who were working with levitation technology. “We began wondering how we could use this technology differently in making tech products,” he says. The company launched its product in the US first and it was a favourite online Christmas gift idea last year. “This is freakin’ awesome,” said technology YouTuber Lamarr Wilson in his video review.

A bigger, badder version of this speaker is now available in the US, where popular Launchpad products include self-cleaning fish tanks, a contraption that allows you to pour a glass of wine without pulling out the cork (intrigued?), a toilet bowl with motion sensors that lights up when you want to go in the middle of the night and a smart pet feeder that takes charge when you’re not at home. That’s probably the future of big city innovation everywhere. Meanwhile, I’m just happy that there are entrepreneurs who want to create for the connected, cynical India that has access to the best toys. It can only be good for our spirit of innovation.

LECHAL teams up with Amazon Launchpad for retail launch in India

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Mon, 5 Dec 2016 23:56:00 -0800

Lechal unisex insoles, one of its kind wearable technology product that is GPS navigated, is now available on Amazon Launchpad at Rs 6,999.

Lechal, the world’s first haptic-based interactive footwear, announced its partnership with Amazon Launchpad, a platform for startups to launch, market, and distribute their products to hundreds of millions of customers across the globe.

Lechal unisex insoles, one of its kind wearable technology product that is GPS navigated, is now available on Amazon Launchpad at Rs 6,999. Taking you to the future of footwear, Lechal reminds you your direction, keeps a record for your route and checks your fitness levels. The stylish smart insoles can slip into footwear like any other. By pairing the insoles with the Lechal app to Here Maps via Bluetooth, the user can set a destination and receive directions via haptic vibrations on his/her feet making any journey truly hands-free. The Lechal app is available on both android & IOS.

Speaking on the partnership with Amazon, Krispian Lawrence, founder and CEO Ducere Technologies said “It gives us immense pleasure to be a part of the Amazon Launchpad program. Lechal has been innovatively designed to offer something distinctive and redefine the way we navigate our world. We anticipate that this platform will help bring the product to a wider audience.”

Amazon Launchpad is a platform where customers can discover unique innovations from the world’s brightest startups. Amazon has worked with leading venture capital firms, startup accelerators and crowd-funding platforms to help more than 500 startups to launch over 1500 cutting-edge products in the US, UK, Germany, France, China and Mexico.

“We are very excited to provide the Amazon Launchpad platform to Ducere Technologies to launch Lechal in India. Amazon Launchpad is a specially tailored program that helps start-ups like Ducere Technologies to showcase their unique and exciting products to millions of Amazon customers in India as well as globally. With Amazon Launchpad, we hope to augment the innovation culture among the Indian youth, support the Indian government’s Start-up India initiative and help build the India story,” says Jason Feldman, Director Global Innovations, Amazon.

GPS Bluetooth Enabled Navigation And Fitness Activity Tracker

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 05:26:00 -0800

GPS Navigation And More For Your Feet.

Lechal is a fashion and lifestyle brand that has been recognized globally for innovation, winning several awards and recognition, including Frost & Sullivan India's New Product Innovation Leadership Award and the second place at Rec@nnect Challenge, a partnership between CRDF Global and the United States Department of State in 2014. This year, Ducere has been selected as a “Cool Vendor” by Gartner and Krispian Lawrence was awarded Business World’s Young Entrepreneur Award.

Since the genesis of Lechal was to harness haptics to help the visually-challenged, it has an accessible, inclusive design and features that also allow it to be used by the visually-impaired.

World At your Feet
Simply snap the Lechal pods into your smart footwear, set your destination in the app and you're good to go. No maps, no hands, no audio, no screen notiﬁcations, no distractions - just you and your super smart shoes!

Offline Navigation
It even works oﬄine! Which means you can wander oﬀ with no data connectivity or get oﬀ a plane in a new country and Lechal will work, always in all ways.

Fitness Activity Tracking
Lechal counts steps and calories and measures the distance travelled. It logs your activity, so that you can keep track of your ﬁtness.

Fitness-based Navigation
Even when you're using Lechal to navigate, fitness is not far behind as you can pick your route based on the metrics you can achieve.

Appsolutely Simple
Lechal's app is its nerve centre from which you conanect to the pods, set your destination, create custom workouts and much more. It also reﬂects our core design principles of minimalism and user-centricity, and of course, fun!

Power Efficient
Lasts 15 days on a single charge

Click here to buy Lechal Smart Navigation and Fitness Tracking Insoles and Buckles from store.lechal.com.

Also availble in Amazon.com

Wearable Technology with Haptic Feedback

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 03:15:00 -0700

Wearable technology is a class of innovation gadgets that can be worn by a buyer and regularly incorporate following data identified with wellbeing and wellness. Other wearable tech contraptions incorporate gadgets that have little movement sensors to bring photographs and adjust with your cell phones.

The development of wearable innovation in the shopper hardware part is chiefly ascribed to expanding requests for wearable scanners and figuring gadgets in distribution center, logistics, and alternate operations where effectiveness is unavoidable. Consumer wearable gadgets incorporate a large group of items that are utilized as a part of shifted applications, for example, wellness and games, excitement and sight and sound, multi-capacity, and pieces of clothing and form. Wearable electronic gadgets find convincing applications in wellness and games. From keen wristwatches that record heart rates to smart groups that track physical exercises; wearabletechnology as wellness observing gadgets pull in expanding consideration from wellbeing cognizant purchasers.

While fitness bands, smart watches and other different wearables are as of now settled in the business sector, a large portion of them have under-conveyed on desires.

With the focus in wearable technology heavily centered on devices that go on users' wrists and heads, Indian company has launched the Lechal smartshoe, which is the world's first interactive haptic feedback footwear. Lechal insoles works on the 'interactive haptic feedback' aspect, the way of vibrations in either feet alert users to a range of things including directions and nearby acquaintances. Lechal insoles pods sync up “with a smartphone that uses Google Maps and vibrate to tell users when and where to turn to reach their destination.” This is an exciting breakthrough in wearable technology.

Move with GPS Enabled Insoles for Smart Shoes

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Mon, 22 Aug 2016 03:58:00 -0700

Insoles for Smart Shoes

Have you ever thought of a shoes that will show you the way to your destination? Just feed your destination on your shoes and it will help you to reach your destination.

An Indian start-up is promising to do the same in real life with some new, GPS-enabled smart shoe insoles “Lechal” that vibrates to give the wearer directions.

These insoles will also count the number of steps taken, distance travelled and calories burned. Lechal’s smart insoles can be trimmed to fit any shoe making them unisex and very practical. They contain the Lechal pod, which is the connected device also used in their line of shoes. The pod come with a detachable Bluetooth transceiver that links to a smartphone app to direct the wearer using Google maps, sending a vibrating signal to indicate a left or right turn.

These smart insole interacts with your smartphone giving you endless possibilities at your feet, you can set your destination and receive vibratory feedback showing you the way to go, set fitness goals, keep track of your steps and calories burnt, create workouts and track your activity. You can even get automatic notifications of landmarks around you, and an alert letting you know when you´ve left your phone behind.

This sounds like a great navigational tool for anyone interested in subtle tech, but Lechal see their insoles as accessibility products. Visually impaired people can’t take advantage of many fitness trackers and navigational tools that others take for granted. By using haptic feedback for directions, visually impaired users can navigate new places after using the accessibility features on their smartphone.

The vibrations don’t just tell you left or right. There are different vibrations to orientate the user, send them in the right direction, and provide information about upcoming corners and their curvature. It’s a two-way system too as foot gestures can be used to tag locations, check if you’re going the right way, and even start and stop workouts.

Track Your Fitness and Stay Fit

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 02:04:00 -0700

Finding out the best fitness tracker is a difficult prospect nowadays. Everyone wants a piece of the action. The right activity tracker for you will be based on your individual needs.

The moment someone says 'fitness tracker', you likely think of a device mounted on the wrist, whether it's a band that only tracks fitness, or a smartwatch. It is true that wrist-mounted fitness devices are the most popular gadgets in the category, with at least 160 wrist-based fitness trackers in the market. But we've also heard some people mention that they don't want to wear something like a Fitbit because they already wear a watch all the time, and so they don't want another thing to keep on their wrists.

If you are someone who'd rather keep his wrists free, but still want to be able to track your fitness, we've Lechal for you. Everyone likes a good pair of shoes. And wouldn't it be great if your footwear could be your fitness coach? Lechal footwear has something similar in mind. What started as a company to improve navigation for the visually impaired people, is now one of the most innovative fitness solutions.

Apart from normal features like step counting and tracking calories burned, Lechal also has the capability to navigate you turn by turn via haptic feedback. It even works when you're not connected to the Internet. Another interesting feature is group journeys, to guide people to the same location from different starting points, using the pods.

Place Lechal insoles in any pair of shoes and experience the comfort you could never imagine. The pleasure of these majestic insoles increases the quality of life and helps in more haptic vibrations. Take your body to its extremes with this fitness app. This will help you in keeping track of your steps, calories and distance traversed so that you can improve on yourself.

Navigate Hands Free with Lechal Haptic Technology

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 23:55:00 -0700

World's First Haptic Insoles

Need to use your cellphone but your hands are tied up? A World first haptic footwear is here to help.

Whether you're exploring your city or in a new country, whether you're walking or cycling, whether it's your daily commute or oﬀ-roading, there's a hands free navigation mode for you.

The stylish and comfortable smart footwear lechal can be worn like any other, but offers never-before-seen functionality. By pairing with the Lechal app to Here Maps via Bluetooth, the user can set a destination and receive directions via haptic vibrations on his/her feet making any journey truly hands-free. If the wearer needs to turn left, the left side will gently vibrate and so on. Navigating to a variety of destinations has never been easier, and users are no longer required to stare at a screen constantly to ensure they are navigating to the correct destination. Lechal also has an offline mode, so you don’t need to be connected to use the product.

Lechal footwear is powered by a pair of compact and cutting-edge pods. Snap into either the insoles or the shoes, connect to the Lechal app, and your footwear is instantly smarter and ready to show you the world. Lechal additionally boasts designated voice commands and an inherently social nature, enabling you to share your location with other users. The footwear is also ideal for groups of families and friends that want to keep track of everyone.

How To Wear Technology

noreply@blogger.com (Wearable technology) — Fri, 5 Aug 2016 00:46:00 -0700

If you’re flashing the Fitbit as proudly as you were flashing the solitaire some years ago, congratulations. Here are some more cool wearable tech accessories:

Safer, smarter jewellery: It’s a colourful bauble but it’s also a button that sends out a message to a friend if you’re in danger. Safer smart jewellery by Leaf also helps you locate safe places nearest to you.

The Ringly smart bracelet: This gadget cannot be told apart from a piece of real jewellery. A gorgeous bracelet with a large precious stone engraved into a matte gold band will keep you notified to calls, text alerts, emails, appointments and notifications.

Shoes that steer: You’ll never get lost with these pair of shoes. Clip on a cutting-edge pod to the Lechal shoe and connect it to the Lechal app and watch your shoe turn navigator. With a series of buzzing signals, the shoes will direct you to your destination, hands free.

Fitness friend: The Fitbit activity wristband keeps track of your every step, distance covered, floors climbed and more.

Bag it: The new collection of tech-enabled Kate Spade bags lets your phone charge wire-free while being tucked away into your Everpurse handbag.

Pink Light Campaign: The South Korean city of Busan is testing a new gadget that pregnant women can clip on to themselves or their accessories which will alert the about vacant seats in public transport.