A Electronic backpack won’t let you get lost (Nov, 1970)
A Electronic backpack won’t let you get lost
It’s called a position locator, and Westinghouse makes it for the Army. The locator automatically computes the distance and direction traveled by a wandering soldier on patrol, who then determines his location by reading map coordinates on a counting meter and comparing them with grid lines on a military map. The system consists of a 14-pound backpack computer plus boot antennas (top right) and a display/control unit (lower right). The antennas count and measure each step by an exchange of electronic signals fed to the backpack, which contains a compass device. The system can also be used in forestry work, in exploration, or for preliminary mapping.