An automotive navigation system is a satellite navigation system designed for use in automobiles. It typically uses a GPS navigation device to acquire position data to locate the user on a road in the unit's map database. Using the road database, the unit can give directions to other locations along roads also in its database. Dead reckoning using distance data from sensors attached to the drivetrain, a gyroscope and an accelerometer can be used for greater reliability, as GPS signal loss and/or multipath can occur due to urban canyons or tunnels.
Some sorts can be taken out of the car and used hand-held while walking.
Both Sony and TomTom have come together to roll out a couple of A/V navigation systems in the form of the XNV-770BT and XNV-660BT, where both companies hope that this partnership will result in some of the most advanced car audio, video and navigational technologies
which are currently available in the current market. The Sony XNV-770BT will be a 7-inch widescreen display while the XNV-660BT is a 6.1-inch widescreen display, where both models will ship pre-loaded with TomTom’s extensive map database of both US and Canada roads, coupled with one free year of map upgrades which does not involve any incremental charge. Just to get an idea on how comprehensive TomTom’s maps in the US are, they feature more than 1 million more miles of roads than other GPS brands. Ain’t that comforting?
Apart from that, each system is capable of taking full advantage of several of TomTom’s advanced navigational technologies that you have already come to know and love. Shared features of both devices include a high quality WVGA display that are touted to be one of the brightest and highest contrast screens available at the moment. The XNV-770BT 7-inch display is fully capacitive touch sensitive, while the XNV-660BT will feature several hard keys such as volume and key menu buttons to complement its touchscreen display. There is a rear USB port located on both devices for simple hookup to iPod, iPhone and other digital music players, while full Bluetooth capability ensures you can hook up wirelessly to other compatible devices. Sony also threw in a stylish graphical user interface (GUI) that comprises of large, easy-touch buttons to make life easier for everyone. Audio-wise, you get multi-channel playback with Center Speaker Organizer (CSO), resulting in a virtual 5.1 channel surround sound throughout the car. As for the advanced sound engine (ASE), it will deliver a high-quality, digitally enhanced sound experience while letting you customize the in-car sound field in order to match your tastes. Expect the new XNV-770BT and XNV-660BT A/V navigation systems to be out this November for around $1,300 and $1,000, respectively.
Steven Lobbezoo developed the first commercially available satellite navigation system for cars. It was produced in Berlin from start 1984 to January 1986. Publicly presented first at the Hannover fair in 1985 in Germany, the system was shown in operation on the evening news (item in the Hannover fair) from the first German television channel in that year. It used a modified IBM PC, a large disc for map data and a flat screen, built into the glove compartment. It was called Homer (after the device from a James Bond movie).
Alpine claims to have created the first automotive navigation system in 1981. However, according to the company's own historical timeline, the company claims to have co-developed an analog automotive navigation product called the Electro Gyrocator, working with Honda. This engineering effort was abandoned in 1985. Although there are reports of the Electro Gyrocator being offered as a dealer option on the Honda Accord in 1981, it's not clear whether an actual product was released, whether any customers took delivery of an Electro Gyrocator-equipped Accord, or even whether the unit appeared in any dealer showrooms; Honda's own official history appears to pronounce the Electro Gyrocator as not practical. See below for Honda's history of the project.
Honda claims to have created the first navigation system starting in 1983, and culminating with general availability in the 1990 Acura Legend. The original analog Electro Gyrocator system used an accelerometer to navigate using inertial navigation, as the GPS system was not yet generally available. However, it appears from Honda's concessions in their own account of the Electro Gyrocator project that Etak actually trumped Honda's analog effort with a truly practical digital system, albeit one whose effective range of operation was limited by the availability of appropriately digitized street map data.
Progress in digital technology would not stop simply because Honda had turned its attention to analog. In 1985, for example, the U.S. company ETAK introduced its own digital map navigation system. Although the system's effective range-the area of geographical coverage-was limited, the announcement was a dour one for Nakamura and his staff. Therefore, ultimately the development of a practical analog system was shelved. The staff experienced indescribable feelings of disappointment. The development of [Honda's] digital map navigation system resumed in 1987, following a three-year hiatus.
Both Mitsubishi Electric[6] and Pioneer claim to be the first with a GPS-based auto navigation system, in 1990. Also in 1990, a draft patent application was filed within Digital Equipment Co. Ltd. for a multi-function device called PageLink that had real-time maps for use in a car listed as one of its functions.
Magellan, a GPS navigation system manufacturer, claims to have created the first GPS-based vehicle navigation system in the U.S. in 1995.
In 1995, Oldsmobile introduced the first GPS navigation system available in a production car, called GuideStar. There also was an Oldsmobile navigation system available as an option as early as 1994 called the Oldsmobile Navigation/Information System. It was an option on the Oldsmobile Eighty Eight.
However it was not until 2000 that the United States made a more accurate GPS signal available for civilian use.
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