Smart navigation system in 1992 – From the Old Box

Being surprised by a traffic jam while it continues on an alternative route, having to ask a passer-by where a gas station can be found, asking at that gas station for a nearby eatery, in 1992 that was all very normal. Thanks to modern navigation systems and apps, you can now outsource it all. You can even set your route in advance so that you are guided to a different place somewhere in between, for example to take a break and have a bite to eat. It all seems so normal, but in 1992 this was still a thing of the future.

Yet exactly thirty years ago, experiments with such solutions were already underway. Numerous companies were working on this, but in AutoWeek 40 of 1992, we highlighted General Motors’ efforts in this area. Under the name TravTek, the American company worked on a navigation system that could do more than simply guide you from A to B. The TravTek system was screwed into 100 Oldsmobiles Toronado for testing in the city of Orlando, Florida. One of the most touristy cities in the US, so full of people who had no idea where they were. Ideal test area. TravTek was tested together with the AAA (the American equivalent of the ANWB). It worked with the help of road maps on a CD-ROM – just like with many later navigation systems – on which your position was determined with the help of a compass and sensors in the wheels. On the screen you could not only see your entire route map, but you also got a drawing of the direction you had to drive for each intersection and there was even spoken route guidance. Very progressive for the time.

TravTek’s main focus, however, was the ability to do more than simply drive to a point. To start with, you could search the system for specific destinations, grouped under useful categories. For example, with a press on the touchscreen (!) a row of eateries, nearby gas stations, sights or hospitals came into view, to which you were guided with the press of a ‘button’. Furthermore, when entering the destinations, you could also choose which route you wanted to take, if there were several options. What was really impressive was that action was already taken if there was a traffic jam on your route. Traffic information was loaded into the system via a satellite connection, so that an alternative route was immediately calculated and suggested in the event of delays. The route was then adjusted as desired and you could avoid the traffic jam.

In short, TravTek was in many ways one of the most concrete forerunners of what navigation systems can do today. Are you curious about how it all worked and looked like in practice? Be sure to watch the video below: