Smart shoes bring Google Maps to your feet

India-based startup Ducere Technologies Pvt. hopes to combine wearable technology and wayfinding with its newly-unveiled Lechal smart shoes. Paired with an app and Google Maps, the embedded footwear interacts with its wearers through haptic feedback. Rather than have to listen to a spoken guide, the user can now “feel” the directions through the Bluetooth-connected shoes’ vibrations.

As Business Insider writes, “Lechal shoes are one of several smart footwear products to emerge into the market recently. Some of these other gadgets, however, are more focused on health and fitness while the Lechals’ navigational capabilities offer a more broad use case.” According to its creators, the shoes were originally designed to assist the visually-impaired navigate in conjunction with a cane; however, as the company began to develop the shoes, it became evident the footwear possessed a number of other uses.

One thing is for certain, you’ll never forget your shoes while heading out — something that can’t be said for wristbands.”Shoes are a natural extension of the human body,” Co-Founder and CEO Krispian Lawrence, told the Wall Street Journal. “You’d never forget to wear shoes, the way you might forget your phone or wallet at home.”

You can either wear the sneakers, which come in red or black, or put the insoles inside an existing pair of shoes.