SIGHT AND MOVEMENT – SHOES THAT MOBILIZE THE VISUALLY-IMPAIRED

These insoles allow visually-impaired individuals complete mobility. [Screenshot]

Haptic technology uses vibration force or movement to communicate via the sense of touch, and is the backbone of Lechal shoes. Nestled in the insole, Lechal’s technology guides users with a series of vibrations that indicates which direction to walk. These special shoes allow visually impaired people to move around with confidence and security as their shoes and programmed GPS technology will take them to their desired destination. As an added bonus, for every purchase of a pair of LECHAL footwear, the cost of the insoles will be subsidized for a visually-challenged individual.

An inherent interest in haptics, a chance meeting with a visually-impaired acquaintance, a vague notion to rethink the way the visually-challenged navigate all germinated in the creation of Lechal.

It has taken five years, 15 prototypes, a core team of over a 100, and countless hours of hard work sprinkled with a few eureka moments to get to the final product. Through it all has been a commitment to and an inspiration from that first meeting and call to action. The white cane, the most commonly-used assisstive device by the visually-impaired, has changed little in more than a 100 years even as technology has leap-frogged centuries. Our challenge was to find a simple solution to a problem few had thought to tackle and our answer lay in haptics or the technology of touch. With haptics as our chosen medium, we grappled with form, finally settling on footwear, setting the stage for a ground-breaking product for everyone.

Lechal's design, engineering and manufacturing is most inventive in its commitment to accessibility. Due to its unique origins, the concepts of universal use and inclusive design are at the core of Lechal's ideation and execution. More than mere concepts, these are fundamental principles around which the product is built. Every design idea, every prototype, every proposed solution to every problem is weighed against one simple but core question - is it inclusive?

Lechal's most innovative features, certainly its best ones, stem from answering that one question. And in constantly asking and answering that question, we found ourselves focusing on the user and user-friendliness in the most revelatory and revolutionary ways.