VEHICLE LOCATION AND HEADING COMPUTER SYSTEM

A system is provided in which pulses generated by the rotation of the wheels or tracks of a vehicle are processed to provide representations of the heading and location of the vehicle relative to X and Y coordinate axes. The angle between vehicle heading and the X axis is represented by the binary value stored in an angle register, the angle register being updated by the generated pulses each time the vehicle travels a predetermined distance. An associated quadrant register provides a binary representation of that one of the four quadrants of the coordinate system in which the vehicle heading is located. Binary representations of the vehicle location relative to the X and Y axes are stored in X and Y registers, which registers are updated in accordance with incremental changes in X and Y by computing the sine and cosine of the new angle stored in the angle register upon each updating of the angle register. The stored angle and X, Y representations are converted into analog values to provide a visual display of the vehicle heading and location. The stored representations are also processed by apparatus which provides for operation of the vehicle over a predetermined course without the need for a driver or operator.