Never get lost again - what3words

[razz]

https://what3words.com/products/what3words-app/

This is an amazing new app to help you navigate the entire world or locally or to seek help if lost. Easier than GPS to use. Check it out. Anyone used it?

[SteveinMN]

I've had the app on my phone for a year or two. Brilliant idea! I can even see the address change as I move about our house. I just wish it was used more within buildings like municipal buildings, hospitals that have sprawled all over for decades, etc. So much better than current navigation, which pretty much drops you in the parking lot and done.

[bae]

My Search & Rescue team uses this, and we love it.

[razz]

Bae, that is good to know. It is such a different approach to navigation and needs to be shared more widely. I just heard about it on CBC news.

[Teacher Terry]

Just download as I have no directions sense whatsoever).

[JaneV2.0]

That looks wonderful for ramblers and adventurers alike. I'll pass the link along.

[razz]

My Search & Rescue team uses this, and we love it.

Bae, would you please advise what situations arose that triggered this support request; is it used as a 911 equivalent or just getting lost or scary situations or out on the sea. I am trying to understand its full potential use.

I know that I got lost in a snowstorm in unfamiliar terrain which was rolling so getting a sense of direction was very difficult and the edges of the actual road were hard to see. I now have a maps app that tells me where to turn which has been very helpful. I am trying see where and which support to use and when. TIA

[ToomuchStuff]

I would be interested in Bae's response as well. I am wondering if someone can use this to find someone (or rather, their phone), or if it requires active participation by the phones, user? (example, someone called 911 and passed out, verses actively trying to give their location)

In my case, this would be handy if no active participation was required, to help a diabetic that looses their phone, especially when having bad days, to locate the phone.

[SteveinMN]

One of the original drivers for What3Words was very dense areas of population. While most of us are used to (named, often unique, and sometimes logical) street addresses which are further subdivided into apartment or suite numbers as needed, there are many areas in which that kind of classification does not exist. For example, in the slums that surround cities in South America, people live in whatever they can piece together -- a tent, large pieces of canvas or cardboard, etc. It's not a formal livable structure -- yet it exists. A shopping center may be identified by its official street address, but you know how far away you can be from the store you want to visit when you walk inside. Temporary gatherings, like the tent cities that have popped up in Minneapolis and St. Paul, fill fields, not streets.

So there's value in being able to use more granular location identifiers. Identifying by, say, leaves.indeed.stable is far more specific than saying "I'm at the park, by the pond (no I don't know which one)". That's good for first responders to know. It's good for friends to know if you plan to meet up with them. Waterborne incidents is another area in which What3Words shines.

With the What3Words app on my phone, I can navigate, identify where I am and share with others I designate. There are devices which use What3Words as a locator and first responders who can receive that beacon and use it to respond. The What3Words Web site lists many devices and uses; I'm sure bae can fill in on how his groups use it.

I just wish it would catch on quicker.

[razz]

I just wish it would catch on quicker.

This is why I am amazed that I am just reading about it now and sharing the info. It sounds like an awesome app to have on one's phone. That young woman who died after getting lost snowshoeing on a trail in BC is an avoidable tragedy.
TMS had some good questions as well.