Le Chal smart footwear: test concludes gold-standard precision

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Mar 25, 2019

The wearable technology footwear brand Le Chal designs shoes to aid the visually challenged and a recent validation study confirmed it has 96 percent average accuracy. 

Le Chal was founded by Krispian Lawerence and Anirudh Sharma and manufactures in Hyderabad. The business describes itself as the world’s first shoe manufacturer with haptic technology. Operationally, the footwear insoles connect to the wearer’s phone via bluetooth and an app which, after the wearer inputs their journey and where they want to go, allows the shoes indicate the right direction to walk using vibrations.

"Simply connect your smartphone and our insoles using Bluetooth control via Ducere app,” Lawerence told TNN. “The insoles and phone to talk to each other. The wearers can set a destination on their smart phone and the insoles vibrate left or right to indicate which way to turn. Like a tap on the shoulder, LeChal's gentle vibrations at your feet guide you invisibly but intuitively."

The brand’s insoles were recently tested at a U.S. medical research university which concluded that they have around 96 percent accuracy. This falls under “gold standard precision”. This will help the brand, which retails its product for around Rs 3,000, to expand its market, especially in its largest international market, the U.S.

Ducere Technologies, the business behind Le Chal, is also currently working on technology to detect falls among geriatrics. The brand’s new technology “reads and analyses the user’s walking pattern, and, in extension, provides in-depth gait analysis and balance data to prevent falls among the elderly thereby prevents injuries,” explained Lawerence.