This variation in the generated voltage is measured, allowing the Earth inductor compass to determine direction.The earth inductor compass was first patented by Donald M. Bliss in 1912 and further refined in the 1920s by Paul R. Heyl and Lyman James Briggs of the United States National Bureau of Standards,[3] and in 1924 by Morris Titterington at the Pioneer Instrument Company in Brooklyn, New York.[5] Over the transatlantic leg of his voyage – a distance of about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) – he was able to navigate with a cumulative error of about 10 miles (16 km) in landfall, or about one half of one percent of the distance travelled, by computing his heading at hourly intervals for a dead reckoning estimate of position.Later versions simplified readings to show the offset from the intended heading, rather than the full range of compass directions.The revised design allowed the user to rotate the commutators in such a way that zero current would be produced when the craft was traveling in the intended direction.