jbn@wdl1.UUCP (08/23/85)
It's already being tested out in Silicon Valley; I saw someone driving
around with an Atak display on their dashboard. For those of you who don't
know about this yet, the Atak has a magnetic compass, wheel rotation sensors
on the front wheels, a processor, a tape cassette full of map data, and
a clever dead-reckoning algorithm which uses the map data to compensate for
the errors in dead-reckoning. The algorithm was developed by a recent winner
of the transanlantic solo sailing race, who is considered an authority on
dead-reckoning techniques. A nice little unit, and much cheaper than the
GPS-based systems.
I've heard that GM is coming out with these next year.
John Nagle