what3words

Frogman

Frogman

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Have you come across this amazing way of referring to specific places? Some bright sparks have developed a way of referring to every 3metre x 3metre square on the Earth's surface by using three apparently random words. Postcodes are useless for finding specific places, and OS Grid References need a degree of precision in use that not everyone will be capable of. Theres a free, and advert-free, app you can use to discover the specific three words for anywhere, (even Mt Everest) with the option of a map or satellite background, or you can try it at https://map.what3words.com/daring.l...3_Pt_Map-Site_Org_WO_en_Main-Site-Explore-Map. If you can't see the point, a number of police forces and fire departments can: they can be sent to anywhere, with or without roads, to an accuracy of 3metres. For wild campers, it's a way of telling others exactly where to go, or to meet up, and it's a lot more accurate than most satnav co-ordinates. You meeting up at Shell Island? See me at ///hacksaw.skip.automate ! (Except I'm not actually there)
 
What is the point of it? The words don't relate to the place at all. Is it just a form of coding for a location?
 
Somewhere here
w3w.co

///blinks.yelled.opens

This is the what3words address for a 3 metre square location near Millbrook, Cornwall.
w3w.co w3w.co

This 3 word address refers to an exact 3m x 3m location. Tap the link or enter the 3 words into the free what3words app to find it.
 
Oldgaffa said:
Somewhere here
w3w.co

///blinks.yelled.opens

This is the what3words address for a 3 metre square location near Millbrook, Cornwall.
w3w.co w3w.co

This 3 word address refers to an exact 3m x 3m location. Tap the link or enter the 3 words into the free what3words app to find it.
Click to expand...
It's an easier ID for a building or site than than the UPRN used throughout UK. One challenge for them is blocks of flats.
 
Have been using for a little while found no probs .
Blocks of flats yep put you very close to ,then flat would have /should have a number you can eyeball ? ?
 
actually the real 3words is funny as well .... ///dumpling.replace.tuxedos
 
Tezza33 said:
I use mapcode when I find a place on google earth
Click to expand...
I like the map used on what3words better :)
On Mapcode, the road going to my house does not exist. Looks like I am in the middle of a field! (And the road has been there for oh, 50 years at a a guess?)
 
wildebus said:
I like the map used on what3words better :)
On Mapcode, the road going to my house does not exist. Looks like I am in the middle of a field! (And the road has been there for oh, 50 years at a a guess?)
Click to expand...
I will be checking out what3words more but with mapcode I can put the code in to my satnav, useful for getting to places with no address.
I agree the map isn't good though
 
Tezza33 said:
I use mapcode when I find a place on google earth
Click to expand...
Do any organisations use Mapcode do you know? for example, on parcels, I just put my name and postcode as the return address, but mapcode should point to a specific house so if Royal Mail used it it could be good - especially for houses without a number so the postcode becomes just a general area.
 
Right now I'm at pines.puzzle.forum

I'll have to tell the customer as it's pretty cool.
 
I have the app and it beats the others for exact location, but it won't take Co ords I think.

You also need to be able to spell, not all can.
 
South Yorkshire Police now use this app we had an email about it this week I already have the app on my phone and iPad

Alf
alert@neighbourhoodalert.co.uk

We Now Use What3words To Help Locate People In Need Of Assistance


We wanted to tell you about some new location technology our call handlers are using to help find people who need our assistance, but might not know where they are.

It’s called ‘what3words’ and it has divided the globe into 3m x 3m squares and given each one a unique 3 word address. ///lower.belong.levels for example, will take to you a precise spot near to the River Don in Rotherham.

The technology means our call handlers can send a text including a link to the what3words browser site, and whoever has called us can see their location, and read out the corresponding three words.

We can then dispatch help to the right place.

There is also a what3words app, which if downloaded, means the caller can provide us with their location instantly.

The app works offline, so it’s ideal for use in rural areas with unreliable data connection.

Joe Harwood, Atlas Court Dispatcher, explains when what3words could be used: “Emergencies can happen anywhere, in the middle of the countryside, or in a confusing urban area that you can’t describe in any great detail. These are the scenarios when we can turn to what3words and save precious time.”

There have already been some incredible success stories from forces across the country.

In West Yorkshire, what3words has been used to pinpoint the location of serious road traffic collisions and Humberside Police located a vulnerable domestic abuse victim.

Superintendent Bob Chapman, Head of Force Communications, said: “There are occasions where we get calls from people, who have found themselves in emergency situations with no idea where they are. This technology is a fantastic, additional tool that we can use to quickly and efficiently locate people who need our help.”

Chris Sheldrick, co-founder and CEO of what3words, added: ‘Being in need of urgent help and not being able to easily describe where you are can be very distressing for the person involved and a really difficult situation for emergency services. Today people nearly always have their phone on them. We need to use the tools at our disposal to improve public services and potentially save lives.”

You can visit the what3words map site here

Read more about how what3words is helping the emergency services here

See how what3words was used for a real 999 call here
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What is wrong with global co-ordinates? I go on google earth or on a gps, locate the spot I want, place the cursor on it and read the co-ords off the bottom of the screen. Could hardly be easier. That can get you within one metre in most places with domestic equipment. Where does one get the three words from anyway. Actually with Osmand+, click on the spot and up pop the co-ords. It could hardly be easier. Forget the degrees, minutes and seconds as some silly people are inclined to do, just set the instrument to decimal degrees. The only potential complication is knowing which side if the meridian one is on. To the west of greenwich it is minus and to the east it is plus.
 
Why do people want to reinvent the wheel?
On my outdour first aid course, I was advised that if the incident was off-road, I should dial 999, ask for police and ask them for Mountain Rescue. I could then quote a grid reference, and they would get to me faster (from a distance, we have no local mountains) than the local bobbies. How difficult is to to give an accurate grid reference? - just install one of a number of free grid reference apps to your phone (search your store for Grid Reference, select something free). When you open the app, it will display the grid reference of your location which you can quote to the Service.
In principle, the same as installing the What3words app, for which you still have to quote the words, but there is already an established robust system. What's the advantage? A 6-figure grid reference (to 100 m) is usually adequate, but you can give a 10 figure GR which locates a point to the nearest metre!
 
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