Electro Gyrocator

The Electro Gyrocator was claimed to be the world's first automated commercially available automotive navigation system [http://world.honda.com/history/challenge/1981navigationsystem/index.html Honda Worldwide | History ] ] [ [http://www.carnavi-labo.net/topics/0612hist/history/history01.html "20 Years of Car Navigation" (in Japanese)] ] . It was co-developed by Honda [ [http://world.honda.com/history/challenge/1981navigationsystem/text/04.html Honda Worldwide | History ] ] and Alpine [http://www.alpine.com/e/corporate/museum/78.html Alpine Electronics, Inc. alpine.com | Corporate Info > Beginnings of Alpine ] ] . Unlike most navigation systems of today, it did not use GPS Satellites to maintain its position and discern movement of the vehicle. Rather, it contained an experimental gas gyroscope [http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/30/hondas-1981-electro-gyrocator-vintage-gps-at-its-finest Honda's 1981 Electro Gyrocator: vintage navigation at its finest - Engadget ] ] that could detect both rotation and movement. Maps were placed inside the unit and it would scroll them past a CRT illumination screen as the car traveled along. In 1981, it was announced as an option on that year's Honda Accord, but at Y300,000 ($2,746 USD) it was almost a quarter of the value of the car [ [http://grandjdm.com/2007/11/29/old-school-jdm-sat-nav/ grandJDM » Old School JDM Sat-Nav ] ] . It is not clear whether any units were actually delivered to customers; as a "dealer option", it's possible that Electo Gyrocators never appeared in any showrooms.

References

External links

* [http://world.honda.com/history/challenge/1981navigationsystem/index.html Honda History - Electro Gyrocator]
* [http://www.alpine.com/e/corporate/museum/78.html Alpine Museum - Beginnings of Alpine]