Of course, attempts to create car navigation have been made before. Already in 1932, a device called Iter Avto was created in Italy. It loads paper maps on rolls, and a cable connecting the device to the speedometer shows where the car is on the route.
However, true in-car navigation is an invention of the 1980s. Then Honda, together with Alpine, introduced the Electro Gyrocator - the first truly working car navigation.
Unlike most modern navigation systems, it does not use GPS satellites. Innovative for its time, the device is an inertial navigation system with a helium gyroscope that determines the position in space.
Maps are placed inside the device - they scroll on a 6-inch monochrome display while the car is in motion. The package also includes... a pen - if you need to put special notes on the card.
Users can also change the scale, brightness and contrast of the display. In 1981, the Electro Gyrocator, which incidentally weighed about nine kilograms, was offered as an option on the Honda Accord. But with a price tag of around ¥300,000 - that's almost a quarter of the entire car - it's not in demand. Everything has its time.