Maps, but no maps: Three words, one world

What3words doesn’t replace street addressing, but supplements it.

I live in an apartment called Regency Park, Gurgaon. But if you need the exact address of my doorstep, it is ///harp.straying.shelf.Input these words on what3words website or app, and it will bring you to my doorstep via Google Maps, Waze, Bing Maps or, soon, HERE maps.

What are these three words?

A start-up called what3words (co-founded in London in 2013 by Chris Sheldrick) has divided the world into a grid of 3 metre by 3 metre squares, and given each square a unique combination of three random words.The world’s total area, including the oceans, is about 510 million square km, or 57 trillion 3×3 metre squares. What3words has used about 40,000 English words, which helped it create 64 trillion addresses – covering the entire world, with seven trillion to spare!

Also ReadMapmaking: Providing location data to the entire world

How does it work?

What3words doesn’t replace street addressing, but supplements it. For example, a delivery person has to reach a big mall that has two entrances. Google Maps will likely take him to the main entrance, which could be closed for delivery guys. A what3words address, however, will take that person precisely to the delivery gate, saving time and fuel.All you need to do is input the what3words address on the app, select ‘navigate’, and then let Google Maps or another location provider to take you there.

Is it fun to use?

It has a unique use-case. For instance, if you are enjoying a picnic in a huge park and have ordered lunch for family, the food delivery guy can reach the exact location using what3words.Do you know there is a spot to take a perfect photo of the Gateway of India in Mumbai? It’s called ///lamppost.label.stand. Similarly, ///warmers.shunning.head will take you precisely to the India Gate viewpoint in New Delhi.To make it easy to use, shorter words are found in cities and populated areas, while longer words for remote areas or oceans.Mapping experts say that this technology can also be used to find people in emergency who aren’t able to describe exactly where the help is needed.

Google Maps pin?

You can drop a pin on Google Maps to reach just the right place that may not have an address (almost like what3words 3×3 metre squares). But it’s impossible to describe this pin over a phone, and what if the other party doesn’t use Google Maps at all? What3words, on the other hand, works with most location platforms, and can be entered into a speech recognition system.

Similar-sounding words

‘Rain’ and ‘reign’ sound similar, as do ‘hole’ and ‘whole’. The start-up says it has tried its best not to use such homophones.But there can also be similar-sounding combinations. To minimise confusion, similar word combinations are placed far apart on the globe. For example, ///table.chair.lamp is in New South Wales, Australia, whereas ///tables.chair.lamp is in Minnesota, USA.

India use-cases

In developing countries like India, there can be duplicate street names, PIN codes cover broad areas, and some places don’t have an address at all – like a temporary shop in the remote Himalayas. This technology can make it easy for people to reach such places.It’s now available in automotive navigation systems built by Mahindra, TVS Motor, Triumph Motorcycles, Tata Motors and Mercedes-Benz, among others.

What3words and HERE

This week, what3words partnered with the mapping and location tech major HERE Technologies, and now businesses across retail, mobility, e-commerce and automotive sectors will be able to enable what3words location technology via their HERE accounts.Clare Jones, chief commercial officer at what3words, said that the partnership with HERE means that integrations that would have taken years of development can now be done in months and innovative updates can even be delivered over-the-air.Remco Timmer, vice-president of Product & Technology at HERE Technologies, added that what3words’ innovative technology creates another layer of precision in the way the world communicates location. “We see so much potential in making what3words readily available for thousands of our customers around the world,” he said.