Krispian Lawrence co-founded Ducere Technologies with Anirudh Sharma in 2011. Lechal is the outcome of their concerted efforts to use haptics in the wearable technology space.

Both Anirudh and I were always fascinated by wearable technology, and were tinkering with various ideas in this space. But the concept was nascent in India when we started Ducere Technologies. We were not only venturing into a less-explored territory, but also pushing it a notch further by building the world’s first smartshoe.

The basic idea behind Lechal was to see how haptic technology, which is related to the sense of touch, could be used for assisting the visually impaired in navigation. And what could have been better than shoes! No one leaves their home without a pair of shoes; it is like a natural extension of the human body. Initially, we wanted to design a haptic-enabled shoe only for the visually impaired. But after the first prototype, we decided to make this technology available to tech-savvy users and give them a wearable product that will make navigating hassle free.