In a navigation apparatus, when a user starts to walk along a walking course, the user instructs the navigation apparatus to commence the navigation operation as to this walk course which has been formed/registered thereinto based upon positional information, walking pattern information, and temporal information. The navigation apparatus sequentially compares a present walking speed with another walking speed which was acquired at the same position in the past by executing a walking-speed comparing process operation, and then notifies such an information related to a present walking pace of this user based upon the comparison result with respect to the user.

A step counting device includes a top casing, a bottom casing, a display, and two operating buttons. A circuit board is arranged in the space between the top casing and the bottom casing. An open area is formed on the edge of the circuit board and a ceramic vibration detecting mechanism is arranged on the circuit board. One end of the ceramic vibration detecting mechanism is a fixed point located on a fixed position and the other end is a cantilever point extended to the open area of the circuit board and a heavy mass is attached to the cantilever point. The step counting device is attached on a shoe, and the step counting device will be vibrated while a user wears the shoes walking or running. The ceramic vibration detecting mechanism will receive the vibration and a tiny voltage change will be produced to become an input signal to the control circuit on the circuit board. Through counting, processing and exchanging the input signal by the control circuit, a step counting output signal will be outputted and a step number will be displayed on the display.

The present invention is directed to a navigation apparatus capable of performing a proper voice guidance even in such a case that signals transmitted from GPS satellites cannot be received, but a current location cannot be judged. The navigation apparatus of the present invention is featured by such a navigation apparatus in which signals transmitted from GPS satellites are received so as to measure a current location, the measured current location is displayed on a screen in connection with a map, a guidance route up to a destination place is set, and a guidance is notified every predetermined guidance point. In this navigation apparatus, when the signals transmitted from the GPS satellites cannot be received, if a current location is located on the guidance route, then a virtual current location is displayed in such a manner that the virtual current location is moved on the guidance route at a predetermined speed, and a guidance is notified every predetermined guidance point.

A portable position detector is equipped with a pedometer, a geomagnetic sensor, and an acceleration sensor. With the pedometer, the moved distance of a walker is detected by a calculation of "the number of steps.times.the length of a step". With the walking time per step detected with the acceleration sensor, the length of a step is corrected so that it corresponds to the walking state. The moved direction of the walker is detected with the geomagnetic sensor. With this, the moved position of the walker is accurately detected by self-contained navigation. Particularly, even in the case where the position detector is located in a forest or between buildings where a signal cannot be received from a global positioning system (GPS) due to high buildings, banks, and forests, the position detector with a portable size and weight applicable to a walker can know with a practically sufficient degree of accuracy the position of a person carrying this portable detector by self-contained navigation.

A system to determine the location of a person within a structure utilizes a magnetometer, magnets, pressure sensors and a CPU to calculate the length and direction of each step. The data may be displayed to the wearer, preferably on a map or floorplan and may be broadcast to persons outside the structure.