Le-chal – the world’s first haptic

footwear

ANJU PRAKASH
S2 MBA
Mar Athanasios College for Advanced Studies Thiruvalla (MACFAST)
Kerala, India
www.macfast.org
 INTRODUCTION
• Ducere a smart footwear company introduced Le-chal, which translates to "take
me along" can track the wearers fitness and help them navigate using vibrational
patterns.
• In a bid to reduce the falling within the older generation, Le-chal aids users in
coordinating a personalized home exercise plan improving mobility, strength and
balance.
• Founded in 2011 by Krispian Lawrence and Anirudh Sharma create an intuitive
and user-friendly wearable technology for visually-impaired people.

• According to the World Health Organization, falls are the second leading cause of
accidental or unintentional injury deaths worldwide, with an estimated 646,000 fatal falls
occurring each year, with adults older than 65 years of age at most risk
 ABOUT DUCERE
• Headquartered in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, Ducere Technologies is India’s
first wearable technology company, and Le-chal – the world’s first haptic footwear – is
the first of their products to hit the market.

• Created in 2011 with the bold mandate of crafting cutting-edge, world-class products that
are unique and user-friendly, Ducere has grown from a duo of electrical engineers in a
small apartment to a team of 110 engineers, designers, assembly operators, sales staff,
human resource personnel and multiple departments of every type and stripe as befitting
a company with global ambitions.
Nature of Business Manufacturer

Additional Business Service Provider,

Distributor

Year of
Establishment 2011

Legal Status of Firm Private Limited Company

 ABOUT LE CHAL
• Based in India, the heal tech company uses haptic feedback-based footwear through slight
vibrations, which help wearers navigate to their destination and stay fit, which improves its
balance.
• With haptic feedback, wearers have the advantage of being able to continue to hear what’s
going on around them without audio distraction – a problem with Google Maps that
requires users to stare a phone while walking, and is therefore dangerous.

• Mr. Lawrence said Most of the technology out there for falling today is based on the
detection once the person has fallen triggering the emergency services.

• But the company trying to do is bring in technology that can empower our senior citizens to
lead more active lives and also improve their health, because the two primary reasons why
people fall are due to imbalance and improper gait.
 WHY LE CHAL
• Mobility, orientation and obstacle recognition are key to personal independence for the
visually challenged. White canes, sensor canes and guide dogs are the most widely used
assistive techniques, but they have limitations.
• Guide dog techniques are ruled out in developing countries because they are not allowed
in public places. Similarly, electronic sensor canes may be difficult to use in heavy traffic
places. Canes in general are safe but pose limitations in terms of orientation in new
places Vipin Das principal investigator of the Le Chal said.
• Some new systems involve providing audio feedback. But audio signals can be
distracting because visually impaired individuals depend heavily on their sense of
hearing.
• The idea of conveying directional information in a non-obtrusive and non-distracting
manner, using haptic technology, seemed very helpful. Shoes were selected as an ideal
medium because they are the most natural extension of the human body, and shoes
always point in the direction a person intends to walk.
 HOW IT WORKS
• Vipin Das explained that Le Chal consists of actuators and vibrators located in the front,
sides and back of the shoe. With the help of a proprietary app loaded to a GPS-enabled
smartphone, the user can connect with the shoe via Bluetooth and interact with the app to
set a destination.

• The app has been designed using various accessibility options to enable completely eye-
free interface use. Once the destination has been set, the smartphone calculates a route
and through a series of vibrations guides the user from one point to another. The front of
the shoe vibrates to indicate to go forward, the left side to turn left and so on.

• The shoe also includes sensors to detect obstacles such as sidewalks, staircases and
manholes. The user is alerted and guided via a series of vibrations to navigate around the
obstacle or to find an alternate route.
• The intention is to price the first product in line with a good pair of
shoes, around 3,000 Indian rupees to 4,000 Indian rupees, which is
around US$60 to US$70. The aim of the company is to make the
haptic shoe accessible to all visually impaired people worldwide,
which could amount to around 250 million potential users. – by
Michela Cimberle
 CONCLUSION: MARKET CONDITION
• The company had raised $2 million in angel funding in 2013, and began shipping its
product in May 2015. But prior to that, it had already received over 50,000 pre-orders from
145 countries. But being a hardware startup in India, reaching here didn’t come easy.

• The first set of challenges involved getting people on board, from finding the right talent to
finding the right vendors. “But over time, as our media profile increased, a lot of things
settled down. The higher profile also brought more like-minded individuals to us, rather
than us looking for them.” says the team. 

• Also, the founders feel that product development was a challenge due to geographical
constraints. The founders say, “The R&D phase was a huge learning experience because
there aren’t a lot of avenues for innovative product development in India.
• Ducere was bootstrapping before raising the angel round, and is sustaining itself through product sales
that happens via its own portal and distribution partners globally. It has also engaged into a few partner
organizations that work with the visually-challenged.

• Being a niche product, in a space where gadgets like Apple Watch, Fitbit, Moto 360 etc. are catering
to the fitness enthusiasts.

• Le chal has been able to carve a slice for itself as well. When asked about the problems the
company faced during global expansion, the team said “Le chal faced it’s set of challenges and hurdles
while entering the global markets. Some factors like understanding the global consumer preference,
language barrier, finding reliable and trustworthy partners, brand dilution, etc. remains constant.”

• According to WHO, there are around 285 million visually-impaired people in the world with mostly
being in India. This is yet a misleading figure from the product’s potential stand point since the same
report also says that 90% of the world’s visually impaired live in low-income settings. And a $150
footwear would be too pricey for most.
• However, taking into account the fitness wearable aspect, the smart shoes & insoles
might have more takers there. As per a report by Mobility research company CCS
Insight 411 million smart wearable devices, worth a staggering $34 billion, will be
sold in 2020.
• Globally there is a huge demand for smart fitness tech. As for India, the team
mentions “Interest in wearable technology is particularly high in India among
consumers less than 35 years old, and that’s a huge section of a very, very large
population.
• More than 70% of early adopters have evinced interest in buying functionality for
everything from navigation to personal safety to health and fitness. For these
consumers, wearable technology crystallizes a completely connected lifestyle.”