what3words, what is it?
what3words is an alternative to geolocation systems based on postal addresses or geographic coordinates. It divided the world into 3 × 3 meter squares and gave each a unique name composed of three words.
Wondering why do we need another system in the world that is laced with descriptive and reference numbers? This is because there is not an Euro-American standard for postal addresses, for example, in India or Africa. Finally, even in the Czech Republic, it only works on buildings, and not always with sufficient accuracy. If you take material to the trade fair or to the 6th gate of the rolling mill, finding target can cause an unpleasant delay. In the end, even many mail couriers do not get to our company’s address for the first time, they have to call, confirm and thus the delivery time is extended. And time is money.
Why not rely on geographical coordinates? Good idea if you don’t have to copy them from your phone to a piece of paper and then tap them into GPS. For the driver’s ear and eye, the code underwear.marvel.veneer is certainly more understandable than the memorable mess of numbers 49.456703, 18.014904. Oral communication of geographical coordinates is simply impractical, and w3w intends to change that.
what3words serves not only in logistics, but also in humanitarian and rescue systems. When you make a hole in ship at sea and want to announce your exact position by radio, the flawless dictation of the coordinates is a test of nerves. The location via w3w can be easily shared in everyday situations, for example with family and friends.
How what3words works
The principle of what3words is simple. The creators covered the world with an imaginary network of squares with a side of three meters and assigned a unique combination of three words separated by dots to each of them. Customers can use their native language or the language of the country in which they are located. To avoid confusion, no words are divided between the language versions. Once they find an address in one language, they can switch languages and discover the address of three words for the same 3m x 3m square in another language. The codes currently work in English and several other languages, including Polish.
Words that are difficult to understand, interchangeable or vulgar are excluded from the choice of words. Care is also taken to ensure that similar word combinations do not indicate adjacent squares, but as far away as possible. Checking the correct interpretation of the code is then easy.
You can convert addresses and geographic coordinates to w3w codes and vice versa at map.what3words.com or one of the mobile apps. Enter a word code and go to your favorite navigation with one click. There is also an API interface for implementing what3words into your own programs and e-shops.
Always the same address
The system of assigning three words to each square is fixed and will never change. So today’s address with three words will still be the same after ten years. The 3m x 3m square size is consistent around the world, eliminating the need to switch between address formats or country or industry based coordinates.
Tasha will deliver goods at one.two.three
In logistics, what3words codes help and Tasha already supports them. The destination entered by the what3words code (so far in English) Tasha converts to GPS and continues to work in geographical coordinates. You no longer have to struggle with a flood of numbers; you enter three magic words, and the place will be given. Anywhere in the world, accurate to 3 meters.
Despite the obvious advantages of the what3words system, it doesn’t look like the world of addresses and coordinates will change for good yet. Uncertainty can be caused by the private status of the service provider and its protection by copyright. Not to mention the meaning of renaming billions of local and place names: how would you like the wines from richest.trended.trombone?