Gadgets: Good Vibrations

Call me jaded, but it’s rather rare to pick up a wearable these days that makes you go “wow”, what with the steady stream of wrist-worn trackers launching every other month. But you have to hand it to Indian company Ducere Technologies who have taken the bold step of launching a smart footwear-based tracker, Lechal. Born out of a project originally centered around aiding visually challenged people, the tracker, which you may have guessed means “take me along”, is at its simplest a Bluetooth-enabled wearable sensor that you wear on your shoe.

Buy the Lechal kit and you get two rectangular pods which can either be slipped inside the included insoles or laced along with your running shoes via the buckles in the box. You may need to trim the insoles based on your exact shoe size, plus you’ll need to charge the pods with the proprietary charging dock before you slot them into your shoe. Thankfully, with a ten- to twelve-day battery life, at least this isn’t one more gadget you’re adding to the nightly charging ritual. All that’s left is to pair the Lechal app to your Android / iOS device, which lets you set the device up and select which activity to monitor or where you’re headed.

Now, while most folks would naturally consider the Lechal first and foremost for fitness tracking, which it does rather well with its distance/steps/calorie tracking and the ability to set milestones and challenges, I was more intrigued by its navigation capabilities. Enter a destination on the Lechal app, and Lechal buzzes you with a slight vibration (or strong, you choose) on either foot depending on which way you must turn to stay on your chosen route. You can be notified of waypoints, like a coffee shop, on the way, and you can turn on voice prompts to help you make sense of the directions as you get used to your shoes telling you where to go! There’s even an offline mode, much like Google Maps, for you to store maps if you’re headed abroad and don't want to consume mobile data. It’s an interesting take on screen-free navigation especially for those who walk or cycle a lot. Keeping your eyes glued to a map on the phone can tend to get rather hazardous in traffic or in unsafe areas — and with some practice, you can get from A to B without pulling your phone out of your pocket.

An added bonus is that unlike many fitness trackers, Lechal is mostly out of sight even while it’s working behind the scenes to track your fitness data.

That said, your experience with the insoles may vary, since they’re fairly thick and may cause discomfort for some. I much preferred using the lace holder for the pods, and only reserved the insoles for use with formal shoes or when I didn't want anyone to notice the otherwise fairly discreet-looking pods.

The other downside is that unlike wrist-worn trackers, this one is tied to your footwear so it may not be with you all day long. All in all, Lechal makes for a good buy for folks looking for a tracker and navigation aid when they’re out and about.