Once upon a time… The navigation system

20 years of people, 20 years of technology, 20 years of communication – that’s what about:communication stands for. Our anniversary year is slowly drawing to a close and, as we reflect, we smile at the thought of how far technology – our core theme – has changed over the past two decades.
Above all, the development of the navigation system is a story that excites us and that we would like to share with you. GPS technology has only been available to the masses for about 20 years.

A faithful companion

"they have reached their goal!" – a phrase we like to hear, but which we encounter mainly in connection with one thing: the navigation system in our car. Whether eva, susi or horst – drivers lovingly give a name to the voice that (almost) always reliably brings them to their destination.

Nowadays, a navigation system is not only a practical companion that shows you the way, it’s also inexpensive. A good, compact device is often available for less than 200 euros. In new cars, the navigation system is usually already integrated. And even though many people now use their smartphones as navigation systems, experts are certain that cell phones cannot compete with good navigation systems. A professional device has better maps, adapted lighting, voice control and a better power supply, as it draws energy directly from the trolley.

It wasn’t always that easy. It wasn’t long ago that you still had a paper map in your glove compartment to help you find your way around. Before each intersection, they pulled over to check whether they were still on the right track – without having to locate their position.

An accident with consequences

The first navigation systems were developed in the course of the second world war and were mainly used in fighter planes. Later – at the end of the 1960s – similar technologies were also used in the shipping industry, e.g., in the shipping industry.B. The OMEGA radio navigation system. However, neither aviation nor shipping required such complex route planning as road transport.

The first prototype for a car navigation system was developed by bosch and its subsidiary blaupunkt in the 1980s. it was called eva, short for "electronic traffic controller for motorists". But it wasn’t until 1989 that the device was ready for series production and was sold under the name travelpilot for a hefty 7000 marks. In addition to the high price, the developers faced further challenges: at that time, the global positioning system (GPS) did not yet exist and thus precise location determination was almost impossible. Sensors on the wheels and an electric compass with a magnetic probe could only give an approximate location. The map was stored on cassette and the data volume was just enough for a smaller city center.

GPS, as it is used today as standard in navis, was developed by and for the pentagon at the beginning of the 1970s. For a long time, the technology was only available to the U.S. military until 1. on september 1983, a dramatic incident caused GPS to be released for civilian use: a passenger plane of korean airlines was shot down by the soviet air force on a flight from anchorage to seoul – solely because the pilots had flown the wrong way and had thus crossed the wrong airspace.

two weeks after the incident, president ronald reagan announced that gps would be released for general use, but only on one condition: the signal was to be artificially degraded so that locations could only be determined to within 100 meters.

in 1990, the pioneer brand was the first company to develop a gps-based car navigation system. However, this and subsequent systems were still very expensive, since the inaccurate location determination had to be compensated for by speed and direction sensors.

It wasn’t until about 20 years ago, in may 2000, that the signal degradation was lifted by the u.s. government, allowing for location accuracy of up to ten meters. This development made GPS-based navigation affordable and suitable for the masses. Since then, manufacturers have continued to improve route calculation, data processing and adaptations to the devices, culminating in navis as we know them today.

Sometimes things go wrong

As innovative as today’s digital orientation aids are, misunderstandings still sometimes arise when it comes to guiding the pilot to his destination. Regardless of whether the software was programmed incorrectly or the driver misinterpreted the displayed route, time and again people get themselves and their cars into astonishing situations.

In the USA z. B. A few years ago, a demolition company received a job at an address that the employees did not know. So he entered the address into his car’s navigation system and tore down the house. This does not sound unusual at first, but in retrospect it turned out that the house that was demolished did not correspond to the correct address. The navigation system had misdirected the construction workers. This caused the wrong house to be demolished and its owner to be temporarily homeless.

What loves, teases each other

Let’s not kid ourselves – a navi and especially the navi voice can sometimes be quite annoying. And yes, we often take wrong turns anyway, simply because we confuse left and right. Nevertheless, nowadays nobody wants to miss the comfort of a navigation system, and if you use it correctly, think for yourself and don’t rely on it blindly, like the employees of the demolition company, then nothing stands in the way of a successful trip. And at the end of the day, it will hopefully be: "You have reached your goal!".

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Christina Cherry
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