Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Latest By
Category:


Armor
Artificial Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work

"People are choosing to allow television and Electronic Arts to do all their imagining for them."
- Peter Watts

Auto-Navigation  
  Automatic car navigation, provided on a video console in the dashboard.  

This is a very early instance of the idea of having a navigation screen in the middle of your dashboard that shows your current location, and which allows you to enter the coordinates of your desired destination.

…he lighted his destination screen and turned the knob that shifted the broadcast map. Left to right, top to bottom, section to section he shifted it, until he located the portion of Carnegi Avenue he desired. He punched out its coordinates and lowered the wheel.
Technovelgy from The Dream Master (He Who Shapes), by Roger Zelazny.
Published by Ace Books in 1966
Additional resources -

Compare this idea with the Camden Speedster from Methuselah's Children, a 1941 novel by Robert Heinlein. The Speedster can drive itself, but you can't actually set a destination.

Here's a picture of my very own auto-navigation system, on my Toyota Camry hybrid:

Now, if somebody would just come out with a system that lets the car drive itself to the destination, that would be great.

Hey, what do you know, there's the Google's autonomous self-driving car.

Compare to the locatimeter from The Iron World by Otis Adelbert Kline.

Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from The Dream Master (He Who Shapes)
  More Ideas and Technology by Roger Zelazny
  Tech news articles related to The Dream Master (He Who Shapes)
  Tech news articles related to works by Roger Zelazny

Articles related to Vehicle
The 'Last Mile' In China Crowded With Delivery Robots
Musk Idea Of Cars Talking To Each Other Predicted 70 Years Ago
Waymo And Tesla 'Autonomous Cabs' Are Piloted By Remote Drivers
Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode

Want to Contribute an Item? It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add it here.

<Previous
Next>

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

 

 

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Science Fiction in the News

Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'

Woman Marries Computer, Vonnegut's Dream Comes True
'Men are made of protoplasm... Lasts forever.'

Dancing Robots Taught Dance Moves
'A clockwork figure would be the thing for you...'

Proof Of Robothood - Not A Person
'Who are you people? - Show 'em.'

Indonesian Clans Battle
'The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across rough terrain.'

The 'Last Mile' In China Crowded With Delivery Robots
Yes, it's a delivery robot. On wheels.

Tornyol Microdrone Kills Mosquitoes
'The real border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'

PLATO Spacecraft, Hunter Of Habitable Planets, Now Ready
'I ... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching for a habitable planet.'

Factory Humanoid Robots Built By Humanoid Robots
'...haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'

More SF in the News

More Beyond Technovelgy

Home | Glossary | Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.