RE: Mercedes introduces what3words to sat-navs

[TartanPaint]

I looked up my house last year, and again yesterday when I saw this story, and today I can't remember what it is. I don't have the best of memories, but still, 3 random words are too meaningless and nonsensical for my brain to make any lasting connection with it.

I can see this having uses, and to answer the where/were/wear question, the dictionary of words is chosen specifically not to include homonyms. There are also cool error checking logicy things built in that will check the address you want to post a parcel to isn't in the middle of the sea, or that you're not asking a taxi driver to take you to another continent, stuff like that.

Technically, it's a clever system, and I was in awe of it when I first saw it. The APIs (the way developers of other systems interact with this service) is great. The system has been very well thought through. The usefulness of everywhere having a free, universal geographical address will probably solve equality problems for poor farmers and homeless people, but I think if this fails to catch on for any reason it will be the difficulty of humans remembering more than one or two of these addresses because of their (necessarily) total randomness.

[Otispunkmeyer]

Greg_D said:

with postcodes, you can spell them out phonetically to be absolutely certain when giving address details, something you can't be so absolute with in regard to words. brown/clown/down etc. regional accents could really cause a problem here...

also, it has all sorts of unprofessional overtones as well, imagine

bob smith
KPMG
canary wharf
london
monkey.butt.sniffer

Hmmmm

You wouldn't need all that. Just:

Bob Smith
monkey.butt.sniffer

[Andehh]

I think it's brilliant. What a fantastic idea. Remembering ''44, LI14 2UT'' can be a right pain when transferring it from a txt message into the satnav (all on phone), but remember three words and knowing that will take me to their front door is genius. Post codes are good, but can be extremely it or miss out in the country/new build areas etc.

For what it's worth powerfully.built.goatees is in the middle of Saudi Arbaia. And we have ''engine.tunes'' as one of our scores!

[boyse7en]

ukaskew said:

I'm not sure what people aren't getting with this, even in a country such as the UK with a reasonably detailed coding system it still has its uses.

To use my address as an example, the postcode alone covers 56 individual detached properties. Entering the postcode on most satnavs:

a) didn't work at all on many systems for quite some time (when it was a new build)

b) will, at best, bring you to the first of those 56 properties, leaving you to crawl along scanning door numbers, as I see delivery drivers doing all the time

c) won't help at all in finding our house, which is in a small very well hidden unmarked cul-de-sac of 3 houses. Even with satnav most new visitors to our house would end up phoning us to ask for detailed instructions.

Or, another example being my old workplace, which is a sprawling campus with a single postcode. Waze underestimated my journey by at least 5 minutes because it only directed me to the main entrance, but it's actually another few miles and a completely different area and entrance before I actually reached my specific office car park. A minor one, that, but it highlights the inaccuracy of using a postcode.

W3W instantly solves all those issues simply.

Another Example is this weekend I'm marshalling a car trial. This involves finding a rough track somewhere in the middle of a forest I've never been to, which has no postcode as there is no house within 3 miles. Knowing I had to be at back.trouser.monkey at 9am would be a lot easier than trying to convert OS map references into a position on my sat nav (which won't accept them, and wants address or long/lat coordinates)

[Robmarriott]

Otispunkmeyer said:

Your examples don't exist, but duck.table.flowed does .... Ontario. dock.table.flowed.... Alberta. Still a huge cock up if you got it wrong.

Strangely they were the only 3 words I could think of at the time!

I know Canada is big but you'd expect from their apparently excellent algorithm, two combinations which are that similar would be on different continents to prevent accidental mishaps?

[Engineer792]

Robmarriott said:

Otispunkmeyer said:

Your examples don't exist, but duck.table.flowed does .... Ontario. dock.table.flowed.... Alberta. Still a huge cock up if you got it wrong.

Strangely they were the only 3 words I could think of at the time!

I know Canada is big but you'd expect from their apparently excellent algorithm, two combinations which are that similar would be on different continents to prevent accidental mishaps?

As I've said before - one way of preventing such mishaps would be to post the 3-word addresses of three adjacent squares. If any one of them is wrong it will show up and you use one of the other two.
If two of them are wrong then you enquire the addresses again.

[shakotan]

article said:

In this way, delivery drivers need no longer waste time looking for the door to a block of flats

So if you're unfortunate enough to live in a block of flats, how does this system differentiate between your flat and your neighbours on all other floors above and below you?

[wst]

unsprung said:

cookie1600 said:

The Yodel bloke isn't going to turn up in Sydney, Oz, if he's already in the East Midlands is he?

"That'll be £7,495, please."

Knowing Yodel you'd be lucky if he even turned up.

[Engineer792]

shakotan said:

article said:

In this way, delivery drivers need no longer waste time looking for the door to a block of flats

So if you're unfortunate enough to live in a block of flats, how does this system differentiate between your flat and your neighbours on all other floors above and below you?

If they have the address of the main entrance and the flat number, then they simply do as they do at the moment - it simply solves the problem of driving around looking for the main entrance.

[ukaskew]

shakotan said:

So if you're unfortunate enough to live in a block of flats, how does this system differentiate between your flat and your neighbours on all other floors above and below you?

It doesn't claim to replace all other addressing systems or signage, does it? Direct it to the most obvious point where they can then find you (i.e. the door for an entry controlled block, or perhaps more practically for satnav initially the nearest place to park).

Still much closer than a postcode.

I would guess it's been utilised in the likes of Manhattan or somehwere already, places where you might have tens of people living in the same 3x3 square

[Toltec]

You coulds have a fun treasure hunt where you had to discover clues to get the words and what order they are in. Could be recursive so sets of words will lead you to a clue site for the next etc.

Unfortunately shark.head.lasers seems to be a middle of nowhere patch of southern Australia.

[Shakermaker]

Oooh I like this.

How long before this becomes a plot point in a spy movie/tv show?

The protagonists are on the trail of the bad guys, they decrypt or intercept some text messages which just says "Purple Monkey Dishwasher" and they have no idea what it means, until the nerdy type in the background who they had all disregarded until this point pipes up with "Hey, that's a grid reference!"

(would be a good marketing strategy for them as well I think)

I now have the app and am looking up where I am at work, where I live and all that.

[David87]

This is pretty cool. I've never heard of it before, but for sat navs it'd very handy to input just three words as opposed to coordinates or postcodes.

[unsprung]

CoolHands said:

It's better for humans as you can tell somebody three words without confusion.

try to relay (51.501364, -0.14189) and a mistake will be made.

Delightfully succinct, that.

In the past we did not interact directly with the latitude / longitude system. It was cumbersome. It was grist for the military and for municipal and industry insiders.

Now, however, ordinary individuals can capture tremendous value that was previously hidden away. We can tag and share navigable locations at will. And at a level of granularity that is far richer than any postal address.

toohuge said:

To me - it's a very elegant solution to a very complex problem.

It's humbling, isn't it. The people at W3W have essentially discovered a new continent.

Jakarta said:

And I can see where it will help immensely for outdoor types

That's a great example. Use cases are essentially unlimited. Or limited only by our imagination -- as there have now been many good examples offered by others in this thread.

It's unfortunate that many comments insist on making W3W a replacement for postal codes and street addresses. W3W was not designed to replace those things (although I do understand that a small handful of developing nations have chosen to do so).

ThunderSpook said:

try finding a house you've never been to before in the dark where you can't see the house numbers.

Another great example -- because it's all too common!

Robmarriott said:

I know Canada is big but you'd expect from their apparently excellent algorithm, two combinations which are that similar would be on different continents to prevent accidental mishaps?

+1

Toltec said:

Just installed it, quite cool.

fizz47 said:

I am surpirsed the likes of google et al have not acquired the idea already - sounds exactly like the next big thing these companies like to get their hands on.

+1







.

[Utterpiffle]

What a super concept, all the best to the inventors. I genuinely can't understand all the negativity on this thread.

I like that it is a 12mb algorithm rather that a database, so it can easily be installed/embedded as an offline reference anywhere.

We live in the only house on the street with no number. The house is set back from the road. Couriers etc can never find us. To be able to give them "many.knackered.cars" (damn, in the middle of the North Atlantic), "lower.house.value" (double damn, Californian nation parkland) or "that.beige.camper" (Oooh, actually near the in-laws place in North Carolina!) would be so handy.

Cool, my actual address has a "sagging.trapdoor" on the driveway. Defo using that one!

[Utterpiffle]

Silly fun to be had

destroys.beige.cars - in Mali
marina.piano.death - Greenland
cars.broken.again - right next to a high school in long island. Dodgy.
drive.illegally.daily - I wonder if they do in Saudi Arabia
piston.head.argument - Fjord lands in Greenland
drink.drive.responsibly - into the sea

Really should get on with some work...

[Shakermaker]

Silly fun to be had - perhaps the place for a Lounge topic?

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Utterpiffle]

Shakermaker said:

Silly fun to be had - perhaps the place for a Lounge topic?

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

I was supposed to doing some work, but now feel the need to contribute to your new thread. Err, thanks.

[RemarkLima]

CoolHands said:

It's better for humans as you can tell somebody three words without confusion.

try to relay (51.501364, -0.14189) and a mistake will be made.

That's exactly what I was thinking - saying words to a sat nav, typing them or relaying them any other way is a hell of a lot easier the lat long!

[Shakermaker]

Utterpiffle said:

I was supposed to doing some work, but now feel the need to contribute to your new thread. Err, thanks.

I was too, but now I feel I need to contribute further by finding some amusing places