convert a street address to a latitude/longitude point). It worked by using a digital compass mounted somewhere in the car (typically inside the headliner) and two wheel sensors mounted on the non-driven wheels (with magnetic strips installed on the wheel rims themselves). The system used map-matching augmented dead reckoning. The user entered the location of the car where it was first installed, and took it on a short calibration drive. From then on, the system self-corrected: error accumulated through dead reckoning could usually be reduced by checking to see if the current location and direction of movement corresponded to a street in the map data. These and other techniques developed by Etak would perhaps now be viewed as very high-end features for a car navigation system. At the time, however, because there was no GPS to provide an approximate absolute location, they were critically important. The move to digital mapping The Navigator enjoyed a brief vogue, selling a few thousand units in a few years, and even finding its way to the dashboard of pop star Michael Jackson. It also appeared in a 1991 feature film "Nothing But Trouble", shown being used in a BMW by Chevy Chase and Demi Moore (albeit with a color display). However, Etak did not have the financial resources for mass production of improved models of the Navigator. In 1985, Etak had entered into an exclusive agreement with General Motors, under which they would have to continue paying Etak a certain minimum amount regardless of whether GM's Delco Electronics division fielded a car navigation product. Etak stopped making its own hardware and focused more on digital mapping technology with its Etak Maps and EtakGuide products. The transition away from automotive navigation engineering activities was gradual. Etak licensed its car navigation technology to other companies, notably Clarion in Japan, Bosch (Blaupunkt) in Germany (as the TravelPilot), as with Delco earlier. Etak continued to provide engineering support for the productization efforts of its licensees (except in the case of Delco, from which no product was forthcoming ), and continued to develop and support vertical market fleet vehicle applications that used both the original Navigator and the TravelPilot as in-vehicle platforms. As early as 1987, Etak was mapping Japanese cities. However, this was in an era of conflict between the U.S. and Japan in the automotive market. Japan had gotten an earlier start in car navigation efforts with