路癡救星！首款智能導航鞋六月上市

The days of squinting at a map or the screen of your smartphone when you’re lost will soon be over – thanks to new shoes that tell you which way to turn.
手捧地圖或拿着手機找路的時代馬上就要結束啦！這要歸功於智能導航鞋的問世。

The shoes use a Bluetooth link to communicate with your mobile’s mapping system.
導航鞋利用藍牙鏈接手機中的地圖導航系統。

The mobile works out which route you should be following and the shoes then emit a discreet vibration in either foot telling you when and where to change direction.
手機負責導航，而需要改變行走方向時，鞋子就會輕微振動以發出提醒。

The shoes will also count the number of steps you’ve taken and the calories you’ve burned – and they’ll even buzz to warn you you’ve left your phone behind, or to alert you when you’re travelling past an interesting landmark.
導航鞋還可以計算你行走的步數以及消耗的卡路里。如果你忘記帶手機了，或者走過了某個旅遊名勝，導航鞋就會發出聲音提醒你。

'They are as easy to use as a tap on the shoulder,’ said Krispian Lawrence, 30, who developed the shoes with partner Anirudh Sharma, 28, in Hyderabad, India.
這項技術的開發者是兩個印度青年，39歲的克里斯潘-勞倫斯和28歲的阿尼路德-夏爾馬。勞倫斯說：“這雙鞋用起來很簡單，就像有人拍肩膀提醒你一樣。”

‘You can even communicate with them using hand gestures and finger snaps because the shoes have sensors that can pick up movement and sound.'
“你甚至可以用手勢或響指對它發出指令，因爲鞋子裏有動作和聲音傳感器。

The Lechal shoes go on sale worldwide in June but Lawrence and Sharma’s company, Ducere Technologies, has already taken more than 3,000 pre-orders.
導航鞋將在今年6月全球上市，而勞倫斯和夏爾馬的公司目前接到的預訂單總量已經超過了3000雙。

Lawrence believes the shoes will also improve road safety. ‘If I’m on my bike or motorbike, I don’t want to stare at my phone – it’s dangerous,’ he says.‘I’d rather be guided by my footwear.’
勞倫斯認爲，這種鞋還可以提高道路安全。他說“如果我正騎着自行車或摩托車，就不會去看手機，那會很危險。我寧願讓鞋子來導航。”

He believes his innovation will prove invaluable for the visually impaired and has pledged that every mainstream pair sold by Ducere will subsidise a cheaper pair for a visually impaired person.
他堅信，這一發明將大大幫助視力有損傷的人，並承諾給他們提供折扣。

Footnav technology does not impress explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, however.‘What’s wrong with a good old-fashioned map?’ said the 70-year-old when told of the shoes.
但也有人對“鞋子導航技術”不以爲然。英國探險家，70歲的雷諾夫法因斯就說道：“傳統地圖有什麼不好？”

‘If you rely too heavily on technology you’re heading for trouble. Too many people have forgotten the basics: how to read a map and a compass.’
“如果過於依賴科技，反而會帶來麻煩。很多人已經忘記如何看地圖，怎樣用指南針了。”