Analog GPS: Scrolling Wrist and Car-Mounted Maps of the Roaring 20s and 30s
Analog mobile mapping devices like the Plus Four Wristlet Route Indicator and Iter Avto predated modern GPS systems in the 1920s and 30s. Despite limitations, they foreshadowed today's ubiquitous GPS technology.
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In the 1920s and 30s, before modern GPS systems, analog mobile mapping devices were developed, including the Plus Four Wristlet Route Indicator and the Iter Avto. The Wristlet featured single-journey scrolls on a wrist-wearable device, while the Avto was a car-mounted navigation device that moved pages automatically as the vehicle progressed. These devices required manual adjustments and were limited in production volume, targeting the elite. Despite their limitations, they provided a glimpse into future GPS technology. The Wristlet owner, Maurice Collins, praised the invention but questioned its practicality for navigation. The Iter Avto boasted granular accuracy and functionality, guiding motorists through major cities and towns. These early analog GPS devices laid the groundwork for the mobile map displays we rely on today, hinting at a future where such technology would become ubiquitous in everyday life.
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12 commentsI recalled I had joined back in 1990, in preparation for my spontaneous trip to Canada. I had just left my job and had two weeks before my new one. Some how I got it in my head to drive from So Cal up the coast to Canada, across to Calgary, bounce off of Yellowstone and home via Utah.
I joined AAA and got not just a bunch of maps and guides that they’re famous for, but I also got a “TripTic”.
The TripTic was this custom route plan in a spiral bound book. The book is, roughly, 7-8 inches long and 3ish inches wide. And the way it works was you opened it up, starting on the first page, and followed it by going “up”. The driving direction was always up, but not necessarily north. Up was forward. Each page was a chunk of interstate highway and the surrounding area mapped out.
If you took a larger map and placed rectangles end to end along your route, and orienting each map section appropriately, then bound them all in a flip book, that was a TripTic.
My book was probably 20 pages long. My route was 4500 miles. I imagine they made mini maps for all of the major highways and interstates, going in both directions, for the US and Canada. Honestly you could probably do it with as few as 100 map segments, if that many. They had a lot of cubbies in the cabinet, not sure if there were 100 of them.
I only used it once, but it was a great to navigation for my trip, and thought it was a really clever system.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38135979 - The Car Navigation System / 1981
https://global.honda/en/heritage/episodes/1981navigationsyst...
All of the designs seem very obvious given the technology of the time, and at the same time obviously dysfunctional.
Innovation at its best!
Can anyone suggest their favorite dongles and software for this use case? LoRa, GPS, etc.?
The performance of power sipping single board computers is approaching laptop replacement with days worth of battery life.
Can anyone think of a good algorithm for “unrolling” or nearly “straightening” a wiggly route line so that it could fit in one long narrow straight strip?
It still needs to retain illustrative turns and kinks to help with wayfinding.
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