What the Tech: What3Words is an app to help you if you’re lost
By JAMIE TUCKER Consumer Technology Reporter
Warmer temperatures mean many of us will spend more time outside whether that’s hiking trails, weekends on the lake, or music festivals. And along with sunscreen, there is a smartphone app you should always have with you.
“What3Words” is a navigation app unlike any other I’ve seen. It allows the user to share their precise location anywhere in the world by simply sharing three words.
“What came to our heads was to divide the world into 10×10 foot squares, of which there are 57 trillion across the world and to name each uniquely with a sequence of three words,” said What3Words CEO Chris Sheldrick.
Developed and then released just a few years ago, What3Words allows users to locate themselves on a map of the world down to just a few feet.
For example, you might be standing at “hindsight. Carrot. Lips” in one spot. By taking a few steps you could be standing at “Coffee. Carousel. Blanket”.
“You could be out in the middle of nowhere in the desert on land, but you can also be on the water or the beach and of course, all of these places have no conventional address,” Sheldrick said.
“What3Words” is widely used in the UK where it was developed and is quickly being adopted by users in the United States. 911 call centers in 49 states currently use the app and website to locate people who call for help.
In March of this year, 3 ghost hunters became lost in a forest near Dansville, Michigan, and one called 911. Unfamiliar with the area, the caller said they had no idea where they were. The dispatcher asked if she had the “What3Words” app on her phone.
When the hiker said she did not, the dispatcher texted her a link to the “What3Words” website. Once the hiker visited the site she could pinpoint her location with a sequence of 3 words and told the dispatcher who looked it up on the website and dispatched rescuers who found them.
It is a crucial tool for anyone who spends time on the water. On a lake or the ocean, there are no landmarks to refer to in the event something goes wrong. But even on large bodies of water, there are 10’x10’ squares identifiable by their own three words.
While someone can visit the website like the ghost hunters did to notify rescuers where they were, it is much easier to use the app.
Sheldrick explains that the app downloads all 57 trillion squares to the device so a good internet signal is not required to call up a website.
The app is good, not just for emergencies, but for any time you need to locate someone at a music festival, ballgame, or park.
On a personal note, I used the app to locate my daughter when she had a flat tire on the side of the road.
Once she shared her location’s three words, the app opened directions through Google Maps to take me to where her car sat on the side of the interstate.
What3Words is a free app for iPhone and Android devices.
