What3words: the app that can save your life
Police have urged everyone to download a smartphone app they say has already saved several lives.
What3words essentially points to a very specific location. Its developers divided the world into 57 trillion squares, each measuring 3m by 3m (10ft by 10ft) and each having a unique, randomly assigned three-word address. It turned out that 40,000 words was enough to map the whole world.
Why do we need such specific locations? Postcodes sometimes cover large areas in very rural locations - ambulances, fire services and delivery services and trades people may have difficulty finding you. Your sat-nav can quickly go out-of-date if you are moving onto a new housing estate. You may be walking or hiking or climbing in a remote area and get into difficulty.
35 Welsh and English emergency services have signed up for its service and they'd like more people to get the app.
If people do not have the app, the emergency services can send a text message containing a web link to their phones. But this requires a signal (85% of the country is said to have a4G connection). The app does not need a phone signal to tell someone their location, however.
Mongolia has adopted what3words for its postal service, while Lonely Planet's guide for the country gives three-word addresses for its points of interest. Mercedes Benz has included the system in its cars and what3words is now being used in 35 languages.
Some examples are the door of 10 Downing Street (slurs.this.shark), while the area across the road where the press congregate has its own address (stage.pushy.nuns)
Source: BBC News website, What3words: the app that can save your life, 15 Aug. 2019 ( https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-49319760 )
