Electro Gyrocator
Encyclopedia
Automotive navigation system
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...
. It was co-developed by Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
and Alpine
Alpine Electronics
is traditionally known as an aftermarket car audio and navigation systems manufacturer, famed for their high quality, premium in-car audio units commonly known as headunits. It is a subsidiary of Alps Electric Co. and its registered head office is in Tokyo, Japan. However its main offices, or the...
. 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
Gyroscope
A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles of angular momentum. In essence, a mechanical gyroscope is a spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation...
that could detect both rotation and movement. Maps were placed inside the unit and it would scroll them past a CRT
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
illumination screen as the car traveled along. In 1981, it was announced as an option on that year's Honda Accord
Honda Accord
The Honda Accord is a series of compact, mid-size and full-size automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1976, and sold in a majority of automotive markets throughout the world....
, but at ¥300,000 ($2,746 USD), it was almost a quarter of the value of the car. It is not clear whether any units were actually delivered to customers in the form patented in the US in design patent D274332; as a "dealer option", it is possible that Electro Gyrocators never appeared in any showrooms.