Etak

Etak was an early American automotive-navigation and digital-mapping company whose work helped establish the commercial foundations of in-car route guidance. Founded in 1983 by engineer and sailor Stan Honey, the company emerged from a conversation with Atari founder Nolan Bushnell after Honey demonstrated navigation-related electronics during a successful Transpacific yacht race. Bushnell supplied the initial seed funding, reported in contemporary accounts as $500,000, and Honey developed the concept of a practical electronic navigation system for cars. The company took its name from a Polynesian navigation term and initially sought to combine specialized vehicle hardware, digital street maps, and software into a single product. Etak’s best-known product was the Etak Navigator, introduced in 1985. It was one of the first commercially significant automotive navigation systems and a technological precursor to later GPS-based units. Because satellite positioning was not yet available for ordinary consumer use, the Navigator determined a vehicle’s position through dead reckoning. A digital compass supplied heading information, while wheel sensors measured movement. The system then used map matching to correct accumulated errors by comparing the calculated position with the digital street network. Users entered the vehicle’s starting location and completed a calibration drive before using the system. The original Navigator was built around an Intel 8088 computer and used a green vector display rather than the color raster screens common in later navigation equipment. Digital maps and portions of the operating system were stored on cassette tapes. Storage limitations meant that metropolitan areas could require several tapes, and drivers sometimes had to change tapes when crossing map boundaries. Despite these limitations, the Navigator offered address geocoding and moving-map guidance at a time when such capabilities were novel. A few thousand units were sold, and the system attracted publicity through high-profile users and appearances in popular media. Etak’s hardware business faced production and capital constraints. The company entered an exclusive agreement with General Motors in 1985 under which GM was required to make minimum payments even if its Delco Electronics division did not bring a product to market. Etak subsequently reduced its emphasis on manufacturing its own navigation hardware and concentrated increasingly on digital cartography, software, licensing, and engineering support. Its technology was licensed or adapted by companies including Clarion in Japan and Bosch/Blaupunkt in Germany, whose TravelPilot products used technology derived from the Etak system. Etak also supported fleet and other vertical-market applications. The company increasingly viewed digital maps as its most valuable asset. It developed products and services such as Etak Maps and EtakGuide, mapped major American cities, worked on Japanese urban mapping, and later undertook highway and urban-core data projects. Mapping operations expanded during the mid-1990s, with field offices and digitizing facilities collecting road geometry, addresses, services, and navigation attributes. Some of this work used older government map data as a foundation, which Etak then updated and enhanced through field operations. Etak changed ownership several times. News Corporation acquired the company in 1989 after Rupert Murdoch became interested in digital maps as a potential advertising and information medium. News Corporation later sold Etak to Sony Corporation in May 1996. Under Sony, Etak remained involved in navigation and mapping initiatives, including software associated with Sony navigation products and the SkyMap portable GPS system introduced in 1997. The company also participated in emerging Internet, mobile, and location-based service projects during the dot-com period. Etak’s independent mapping operation was reduced in the late 1990s. Several field offices were closed in 1998, and all remaining field offices shut on June 4 of that year. In May 2000, Tele Atlas acquired Etak from Sony. Etak was subsequently integrated as Tele Atlas North America and soon ceased to exist as a separate corporate name. Although the brand is defunct, its early combination of vehicle sensors, map matching, digital cartography, and commercial navigation software anticipated technologies that later became mainstream in dashboard systems, portable GPS devices, smartphones, and digital mapping platforms.

Etak originated in 1983 when Stan Honey, then conducting military-related research at SRI International, proposed the idea of a car navigation system to Nolan Bushnell. Honey had impressed Bushnell during a Transpacific sailing race with his navigation electronics. Bushnell provided the company’s initial seed capital, and Etak was established as an independent technology venture focused on navigation hardware and digital cartography. The company’s first major product, the Etak Navigator, arrived in 1985. Unlike later systems that relied on GPS, it calculated position through dead reckoning. A vehicle-mounted compass supplied direction, wheel sensors measured travel, and map-matching algorithms compared the calculated position with stored street data. This approach allowed the system to correct some of the drift inherent in dead reckoning. The Navigator used an Intel 8088-based computer, a green vector display, and cassette media for maps and software. Its limited storage required multiple tapes for some metropolitan areas, but it nevertheless represented a major step toward practical in-car navigation. Etak initially supplied the complete system, including hardware, mapping data, and dynamic content. The company sold several thousand units and attracted publicity through celebrity use and media appearances. However, the cost and complexity of manufacturing improved hardware limited its ability to scale as a mass-market equipment producer. Its 1985 agreement with General Motors created an important relationship with the automotive industry, but the expected Delco Electronics product did not materialize as originally anticipated. Etak therefore moved progressively toward licensing, mapping, and engineering services. It licensed its navigation technology to Clarion in Japan and Bosch/Blaupunkt in Germany, where related technology supported the TravelPilot line. It also assisted licensees with product development and maintained applications for fleet and other specialized vehicle markets. In parallel, the company developed digital map products, including Etak Maps and EtakGuide, and expanded into address geocoding and map-data services. Digital mapping became increasingly central to Etak’s business. The company began mapping Japanese cities in the late 1980s and later built large-scale American mapping operations. During the mid-1990s it operated a map library, computer-based digitizing facilities, and field offices in several major US cities. These teams collected and verified road geometry, addresses, services, and other attributes needed for navigation and location applications. A highways project launched in 1996 targeted interstate, federal, and state routes, while later urban projects supported automotive programs and digital-map products. Ownership changes strongly influenced the company. News Corporation acquired Etak in 1989 after Rupert Murdoch identified digital maps as a possible advertising and information platform. News Corporation later sold the business to Sony in May 1996. Under Sony, Etak continued contributing mapping and navigation technology to consumer products. Sony’s 1997 SkyMap portable GPS system used Etak-related mapping capabilities and reached business travelers and recreational-vehicle users. Etak also explored Internet, mobile, and location-based services during the late-1990s technology boom. The company’s independent field-operations model was curtailed in 1998. Several offices were closed or consolidated, and all remaining field offices closed on June 4. In May 2000, Tele Atlas acquired Etak from Sony. Etak became Tele Atlas North America and soon disappeared as a separate corporate identity. Its technical legacy persisted in digital road databases, map matching, vehicle navigation, and location-based services that later became standard features of automotive and mobile computing.

• 2000

  Tele Atlas acquisition and integration

  [1]Etaken.wikipedia.org

  Tele Atlas acquired Etak from Sony and integrated it as Tele Atlas North America.

• 1998

  Independent field offices close

  [1]Etaken.wikipedia.org

  Etak closed all remaining field offices on June 4, ending its independent large-scale field-mapping operation.

• 1997

  SkyMap is launched

  [1]Etaken.wikipedia.org

  Sony launched the portable SkyMap GPS system using Etak-related digital mapping technology.

• 1996

  Sony acquires Etak

  [1]Etaken.wikipedia.org

  Sony purchased Etak from News Corporation and continued using its mapping capabilities in navigation products.

• 1995

  Mapping operations expand

  [1]Etaken.wikipedia.org

  Etak expanded its US field operations and mapping infrastructure under News Corporation ownership.

• 1989

  News Corporation acquisition

  [1]Etaken.wikipedia.org

  News Corporation acquired Etak, increasing the company’s emphasis on digital mapping.

• 1987

  Japanese city mapping begins

  [1]Etaken.wikipedia.org

  Etak began mapping Japanese cities for potential navigation and address-location applications.

• 1985

  Etak Navigator is introduced

  [1]Etaken.wikipedia.org

  Etak launched an early commercial automotive navigation system based on digital maps, dead reckoning, vehicle sensors, and map matching.

• 1983

  Etak is founded

  [1]Etaken.wikipedia.org

  Stan Honey founded the company after proposing a practical electronic car-navigation system to Nolan Bushnell, who supplied initial seed funding.

Automotive-navigation and digital-mapping pioneer

• Automotive navigation system · 1985

  Etak Navigator

  Introduced in 1985, the Etak Navigator was an early commercially significant in-car navigation system. It used an Intel 8088-based computer, a green vector display, cassette-based digital maps, a digital compass, wheel sensors, dead reckoning, and map matching. It provided address geocoding and moving-map guidance without GPS. Because cassette capacity was limited, large metropolitan areas could require multiple map tapes.

• Digital mapping database

  Etak Maps

  Etak Maps represented the company’s shift from selling dedicated navigation hardware toward building and maintaining digital road and street databases. The mapping work supported automotive navigation, geocoding, licensing, and location-based applications.

• Mapping and navigation software

  EtakGuide

  EtakGuide was part of Etak’s software and digital-content portfolio developed for navigation and mapping applications. It reflected the company’s later emphasis on map data, guidance functions, and licensing rather than proprietary consumer hardware.

• Portable GPS system · 1997

  SkyMap

  SkyMap was a Sony portable GPS product introduced in 1997 with Etak-associated mapping technology. It included separate eastern and western US CD-ROM map discs, a dashboard GPS antenna, a remote control, and a PCMCIA card for laptop use. Although initially aimed at business travelers, it also attracted recreational-vehicle users.

• 2000

  Tele Atlas acquisition and corporate integrationM&A

  Background

  Tele Atlas acquired Etak from Sony to expand its digital-mapping business in North America.

  Action taken

  Tele Atlas integrated Etak as Tele Atlas North America.

  Aftermath

  Etak ceased to exist as a separate company shortly after the acquisition, while its mapping activities continued within Tele Atlas.

  Source

• 1996

  Sony acquisitionM&A

  Background

  Sony acquired Etak from News Corporation as digital maps and vehicle-navigation technologies became increasingly relevant to consumer electronics.

  Action taken

  Sony incorporated Etak’s mapping and navigation capabilities into its product and technology activities.

  Aftermath

  Etak participated in Sony’s navigation initiatives, including the SkyMap portable GPS system launched in 1997.

  Source

• 1985

  Shift from proprietary hardware toward licensing and digital mappingStrategy

  Background

  Etak’s early navigation hardware was technically innovative but difficult to manufacture at the scale needed for mass adoption. The company also had an automotive-industry agreement involving General Motors and Delco Electronics.

  Action taken

  Etak reduced its emphasis on producing its own navigation units and focused increasingly on digital maps, mapping software, technology licensing, engineering support, and fleet applications.

  Aftermath

  The change extended Etak’s influence through licensees such as Clarion and Bosch/Blaupunkt while making digital cartography the company’s primary strategic asset.

  Source

1. 1Etaken.wikipedia.org