What3words app - pinpoint your exact location

[JoeBlow]

Speaking as someone who has taught advanced navigation techniques and served in a Mountain Rescue Team I can say without hesitation that What3Words is easier to use, more convenient and less liable to misinterpretation than any other navigation method apart from of course a dedicated beacon device.

Al

 

[urastus]

Speaking as someone who has taught advanced navigation techniques and served in a Mountain Rescue Team I can say without hesitation that What3Words is easier to use, more convenient and less liable to misinterpretation than any other navigation method apart from of course a dedicated beacon device.

Al

That's good to hear - not much beats real world experience. I'm actually surprised it works that well. I suppose those on the receiving end must have a good grasp and knowledge of English, and an awesome vocabulary. And then there is the whole pronunciation thing - sheesh! It's almost a cliche of the last 20 years of how difficult communication over the phone can be with our widely spread various different cultures / accents and varying abilities to communicate in english. I'll get the app

 

[STATO]

That's good to hear - not much beats real world experience. I'm actually surprised it works that well. I suppose those on the receiving end must have a good grasp and knowledge of English, and an awesome vocabulary. And then there is the whole pronunciation thing - sheesh! It's almost a cliche of the last 20 years of how difficult communication over the phone can be with our widely spread various different cultures / accents and varying abilities to communicate in english. I'll get the app

I think 3words has the advantage that while the words are random, hopefully you will also be talking to the person and giving other details so repeating back, explaining words, checking the words match the rough location etc. just like you would trying to relay co-ordinates.

 

[Timbo]

You can share your location with a photo as well, also you can choose your language

 

[JoeBlow]

I think the only valid criticism/weakness is that it relies on technology but so does making the emergency call in the first place.

 

[Konanige]

I guess that you have to tell them which country your in cos there ain't enough words to go round

 

[KeithR]

I guess that you have to tell them which country your in cos there ain't enough words to go round

Naaah, more than enough three word combinations to cover the entire planet.

 

[urastus]

I just looked at emergency plus app which has been around in Australia for a while (it's Australian gov.). I see that the latest version has what3words integrated. The beauty of this app (emergency plus) is that location is given by what3words along with latitude and longitude - this would really strengthen the reliability (eg is the 3 word location within the latitude longitude given?). Here in Australia, this would be the better way to go. Emergency services have been working with this app for over 10 years now. It's a small detail, but I'd feel more comfortable being able to relate coordinates to a map - I've often used a phone like this in the past to confirm where I am on a map (ballpark figure). The other good thing about this is that you don't have to remember what geodetic system we're currently using (I think we're wgs84?)

 

[JabberingJimbo]

I had to use W3W after an accident, I was only 1 mile from my house and talking to an operator in the same town, but I couldn’t fully name my location for them to understand!

So I used W3W, it was simple and correct. ?

Shame the ambulance was going to take 4-5hours to arrive (2 miles from depot!)......
I can read a map very well, and could probably have given map ref.
Rather than paying for any app I’ll make a donation to the ambulance’s, ready for next time.

You got me worried about Spooky woods, due there in 2 weeks ?

 

[steve_sordy]

I know that the makers have fixed it so that squares close to each other have no words in common, to avoid confusion, but I wonder if they have fixed it so that there are no funny/risque word combinations?
So make one up and see if it exists!!