What is the advantage of using what3words over existing geolocations systems like global coordinates? I expect access is licensed to companies for a price. On the face of it the app works, works...
What is the advantage of using what3words over existing geolocations systems like global coordinates? I expect access is licensed to companies for a price.
On the face of it the app works, works nicely and is free for basic use. Is this just a case of slick design as a selling point? For example, someone wants to send a person to location X using the system, and there is no advantage over using apple’s pin location apart from having a text based version. You can write it down or email it, add it to a delivery note or whatever and it can be interpreted by the user correctly. Is it just nicer looking than a set of GPS coordinates?
The reason I post is because there is an upcoming funding round in the UK app Crowdcube. I dont mean to advertise any more than I can help.
Near as I can tell The purpose is to give access to coordinates using simple words rather than having to type in exact numbers and hope you don't get it wrong. Allowing people who need to get...
Near as I can tell The purpose is to give access to coordinates using simple words rather than having to type in exact numbers and hope you don't get it wrong. Allowing people who need to get places especially packaged deliveries etc to find their way around even in cities or towns that don't use street names
There is a spoken language benefit that perhaps you are missing. I know in the UK the emergency services are happy to use W3W locations. There are two benefits as I see it in this regard: Reading...
There is a spoken language benefit that perhaps you are missing. I know in the UK the emergency services are happy to use W3W locations.
There are two benefits as I see it in this regard:
Reading three words to someone and having them comprehend it is significantly quicker than reeling off coordinates.
Any variation in understanding e.g. mishear night as knife yields a location in a wildly different location, so implausible it is immediately recognised as an error.
I think 1 is self evident. 2 is claimed by W3W but I think there are some specific examples of where this doesn't apply - I don't know how carefully they have chosen the three words or if it possible to achieve this feature globally.
What is the advantage of using what3words over existing geolocations systems like global coordinates? I expect access is licensed to companies for a price.
On the face of it the app works, works nicely and is free for basic use. Is this just a case of slick design as a selling point? For example, someone wants to send a person to location X using the system, and there is no advantage over using apple’s pin location apart from having a text based version. You can write it down or email it, add it to a delivery note or whatever and it can be interpreted by the user correctly. Is it just nicer looking than a set of GPS coordinates?
The reason I post is because there is an upcoming funding round in the UK app Crowdcube. I dont mean to advertise any more than I can help.
Near as I can tell The purpose is to give access to coordinates using simple words rather than having to type in exact numbers and hope you don't get it wrong. Allowing people who need to get places especially packaged deliveries etc to find their way around even in cities or towns that don't use street names
There is a spoken language benefit that perhaps you are missing. I know in the UK the emergency services are happy to use W3W locations.
There are two benefits as I see it in this regard:
I think 1 is self evident. 2 is claimed by W3W but I think there are some specific examples of where this doesn't apply - I don't know how carefully they have chosen the three words or if it possible to achieve this feature globally.
Sadly, w3w apparently didn't do a very good job in addressing the problem of homophones/misheard words:
https://cybergibbons.com/security-2/why-what3words-is-not-suitable-for-safety-critical-applications/
It’s easier for humans to remember and relay words than numbers. It’s as simple as that.