Lechal insoles use GPS, haptic feedback to make any pair of shoes smart

By Garrett Hulfish December 20, 2016

Smart shoes are a small market right now. As a result, you may be hard-pressed to find a pair that fits your style. And wearing different shoes to match an outfit means you lose the smart features. The Lechal smart insoles solve that problem by allowing you to transfer the brains from shoe to shoe. Now you can stay connected no matter the attire.

Lechal insoles use haptic feedback and GPS technology to keep you going in the right direction, show you where you’ve been, track your fitness levels, and more. By connecting with the Lechal app on your phone, your feet can tell you where to go as the app sends specific vibrations to your foot. This means less time staring at your phone, and more time focused on the world around you.

Recommended Videos

For instance, as you approach an upcoming turn, a slight vibration in your left or right foot will tell you all you need to know. There are unique vibration patterns for different kinds of turns and even for rerouting. With the app, you can also set specific waypoints along the route. As you reach each destination, the insoles will notify you. They can also be used offline to download maps beforehand. This is extremely helpful when going on a hike or traveling abroad.

Lechal insoles can also be used in tandem with the app to record data. See something of interest along the way? You can tag these locations for later use or send a location directly to a friend for a meetup. Or maybe you found a new trail or faster walk through the city. You can record the exact path for future excursions.

lechal gps insoles 4

lechal gps insoles 5

lechal gps insoles 6

Another great use for the insole is tracking fitness. Set a goal using the Lechal app for any distance, step count, or calories to burn. The insoles will vibrate once you’ve reached your goal. As a step counter, you can’t get much more accurate than a sensor under your foot. When it says 10,000 steps, it means 10,000 steps.

You can purchase the Lechal Smart Insoles from the Amazon Launchpad program. Each pair of insoles are unisex and can be purchased for $180. The associated app can be downloaded for any iOS or Android device.

Topics

Garrett Hulfish

Contributor

Garrett is the kind of guy who tells you about all the tech you haven't heard of yet. He also knows too much about other…

Mobile

The best hurricane trackers for Android and iOS in 2024

Best hurricane tracking apps.

The hurricane season instills fear in those who find themselves in the paths of these storms, and in their loved ones who are concerned for their safety. A hurricane app is essential if you’ve stayed up all night worrying about a family member who's alone during a destructive storm.

Many hurricane trackers are available to help you prepare for these dangerous events, monitor their progress, and assist in recovery. We’ve compiled a list of the best apps for tracking storms, predicting their paths, and providing on-the-ground suggetsions for shelters and emergency services. Most of these apps are free to download and supported by ads. Premium versions are available to remove ads and add extra features.

Outdoors

Best lawn mower deals: Cordless, gas, electric and robotic

A robot lawn mower in a backyard while a family relaxes.

Mowing a lawn can be very therapeutic unless you have an older lawnmower, which makes life difficult and constantly causes you frustration. Luckily, you can snag a new lawnmower for a pretty good price, and even the more budget-oriented options have a lot of quality-of-life features that you wouldn't find on lawnmowers ten or even five years ago. To that end, we've gone about and collected some of our favorite lawnmower deals across the board, including some great robot lawn mowers that are worth checking out.
Litheli Cordless Lawn Mower U20 Handy+ -- $120, was $140

If you want a solid lawn mower, this offering from Litheli has a 13-inch cutting width, which is pretty good for the deal that you're getting. Even better, you get a 30L grass bag so you're not having to clean up after yourself, and you can mow for longer without having to stop. You also get 5 height adjustments so you can hone in the length of your grass to the perfect height, plus you get a 4.0Ah portable battery included.

Outdoors

Juiced Bikes offers 20% off on all e-bikes amid signs of bankruptcy

Juiced Bikes Scrambler ebike

A “20% off sitewide” banner on top of a company’s website should normally be cause for glee among customers. Except if you’re a fan of that company’s products and its executives remain silent amid mounting signs that said company might be on the brink of bankruptcy.That’s what’s happening with Juiced Bikes, the San Diego-based maker of e-bikes.According to numerous customer reports, Juiced Bikes has completely stopped responding to customer inquiries for some time, while its website is out of stock on all products. There are also numerous testimonies of layoffs at the company.Even more worrying signs are also piling up: The company’s assets, including its existing inventory of products, is appearing as listed for sale on an auction website used by companies that go out of business.In addition, a court case has been filed in New York against parent company Juiced Inc. and Juiced Bike founder Tora Harris, according to Trellis, a state trial court legal research platform.Founded in 2009 by Harris, a U.S. high-jump Olympian, Juiced Bikes was one of the early pioneers of the direct-to-consumer e-bike brands in the U.S. market.The company’s e-bikes developed a loyal fandom through the years. Last year, Digital Trends named the Juiced Bikes Scorpion X2 as the best moped-style e-bike for 2023, citing its versatility, rich feature set, and performance.The company has so far stayed silent amid all the reports. But should its bankruptcy be confirmed, it could legitimately be attributed to the post-pandemic whiplash experienced by the e-bike industry over the past few years. The Covid-19 pandemic had led to a huge spike in demand for e-bikes just as supply chains became heavily constrained. This led to a ramp-up of e-bike production to match the high demand. But when consumer demand dropped after the pandemic, e-bike makers were left with large stock surpluses.The good news is that the downturn phase might soon be over just as the industry is experiencing a wave of mergers and acquisitions, according to a report by Houlihan Lokey.This may mean that even if Juiced Bikes is indeed going under, the brand and its products might find a buyer and show up again on streets and trails.