P.M. BRIEFING : Computer Navigation System for Cars Will Use Satellites

A new car navigation system that uses satellites to plot a vehicle’s location and displays it to the driver on a computer map will go on sale next month in Japan, a company said today.

The device is the first such system available on the retail market, said Toru Yokomizo, spokesman for Pioneer Electronic Corp.

The system, which goes on sale June 21, connects to a car’s audio system and uses special compact discs to display color maps of any part of Japan, Yokomizo said.

The AVIC-1 device uses signals from satellites to automatically calculate the vehicle’s location. It indicates the location with a red dot on the maps, which are displayed on a four-inch flat color screen, he said.

The driver can choose from five levels of detail in the maps, which also include names of thousands of restaurants, hotels, and entertainment facilities and the services they provide, he said.