Ducere to unveil smart wearable footwear

Hyderabad-based entrepreneurs Krispian Lawrence and Anirudh Sharma are expanding their

business to launch fashionable, technology-oriented and wearable footwear line with diverse applications. The applications include: recording calories, charting own map while trekking and so on.

Founded in 2011 by two graduates from Michigan Institute of Technology with an investment of about Rs 2 crore, Ducere Technologies has launched India’s first interactive haptic footwear. After receiving an investment of 2 million dollars (Rs 12 crores) by a group of Indian angel investors, it is now set to unveil new collections of interactive wearables. With a manufacturing facility in China, the company aims to sell 100,000 units of its smart-footwear, Lechal, globally this fiscal, each costing 100 dollars (over Rs 600).

Decere smart shoe is fitted with an electronic device and battery in the heel, which connects with the user’s mobile phone. After the user tells the phone the desired destination, the application sends the command to the device and connects with the local map. The shoe then starts communicating with the user through different vibrations, guiding them which way to go.

The line is no more limited to the visually challenged. For fitness freaks, the shoe has the ability to count steps and track wearer’s calories burnt. For the trekker, it can help discover new places and map out unexplored terrains.