Where can I buy the CardNavigator?

You can acquire in 2005 the CardNavigator at the earliest. The first few hundreds of instruments will be reserved for the customers whose inquiry arrives at first through our regisration page. After the start of the mass production the instruments will be found in the consumer electronics section of various department stores among the amusement electronics appliances. Actually, we can not give specific information about the department store chains where the instruments will be available at first. Accordingly, please visit our Web page time to time and, you will find the actual information in this respect under the NEWS heading.

How can you prepare a NaviCard corresponding to an arbitrary location?

In addition to the manners indicated in the main Web page, you can buy the NaviCard Designer program that facilitates to prepare cards automatically on the basis of the specified address. Actually, this facility is available only for the whole territory of the USA and for Western Europe. The source database is accessible through the Internet and this is why this function can only be used in On-line mode. The preparation of the card is fully automatic after entering the address data.

You can also prepare cards with the same program by copying a picture on the card that was either recorded with a digital camera or that was obtained in a different way, then filling in the text area with the text that you think to be appropriate. After these operations you have to enter the co-ordinates that can the easiest way be determined using the CardNavigator instrument. (You can use other GPS instruments also to determine the co-ordinates that are suitable to show the co-ordinate pairs in decimal units corresponding to the WGS84 geodetic system).

However, we recommend the use of this last indicated card preparation procedure to the persons having at least basic Windows related knowledge and who enjoy doing creative jobs or want to deal with the card preparation professionally.

How much will be the price of the CardNavigator?

The projected selling price of the instrument is USD 599.00. The price includes the instrument itself and the adhesive fixture that facilitates to install it into any vehicle with a simple operation at the centre of the windshield just above the dashboard. Additional accessories will be the supply cable that can be connected to the cigar-lighter socket and a small, sensitive satellite receiver antenna.

How the CardNavigator operates?

The CardNavigator is an electronic instrument that uses the most modern technologies. It combines in itself the newest development results of the space technology, the telecommunications engineering, the computer engineering and the optoelectronics engineering.

The sensitive receiver of the instrument receives the weak signals of the satellites circulating around the earth in a height of 20,000 km and by processing the received signals calculates the distance from each of the satellites with an accuracy of a few meters. On the basis of the known distances the instrument calculates its own, exact geographical position. These operations are repeated once in every second by the instrument and this way it can also detect the movements on the basis of the alterations between the calculated positions, and what is more, it can also calculate this way the direction and the speed of the movement.

With the card the geographical co-ordinates of the destination are entered into the instrument where its central processing unit compares it to the own position obtained in a manner as indicated above. The distance and the direction can be calculated from the comparison results of the two positions that are the basic data of the navigation. From these data the instrument generates graphic information that appear on the screen giving orientation to the user which way to go to reach destination.

The receiver of the instrument can simultaneously receive the signals of twelve satellites, however, it is enough to receive three of them to determine its own position. This makes possible that the instrument be still operational even if it is among high buildings or in narrow streets, while, only a small portion of the sky and by this a few of the satellites can directly be seen.

Even if it has been turned out from the above description we should like to enhance that the instrument does not radiate radio frequency signals, it receives only the signals transmitted by the NAVSTAR satellites, the reception of which is totally free of charge. The Government of the USA made available free the reception of the signals transmitted by the satellites for all the people of the world.

The common use of the sophisticated technologies makes you possible to disburden yourself of the intellectual load of orientation, to relax or to have an airy chat with your travelling companions instead of searching the way on the map.

You can learn more about the instrument and its services provided if you see our Web page titled "The functions of the CardNavigator"