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"I do think there is a link in that in both cases, writing fiction or writing a computer program, at any given moment you're focusing on a very specific and particular thing—one word, one line of code, whatever."
- Neal Stephenson
 |
| 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. |
| From The Dream Master,
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.
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Additional
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More Ideas
and Technology from The Dream Master
More Ideas
and Technology by Roger Zelazny
Tech news articles related to The Dream Master
Tech news articles related to works by Roger Zelazny
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| RYNO To Heinlein - Your Tumblebug Is Ready! |
| RF Safe-Stop Shuts Cars Off |
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'... as though a child should build from nursery blocks a fantastic shape which abruptly is filled with throbbing life.'
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