Three Little Words Location App

[Steve509926]

Has anyone had any experience of using the location App - Three Little Words.
I've just downloaded it, tested it, and it is very accurate in my back garden!
Would be useful to know if it was accurate in a real emergency.

[PeteG]

Do you mean What3Words ? Yes, I think it's accurate because the word/grid combination is fixed so everyone sees the same tiny 3 x 3 metre square ( assuming the words are accurately shared) I think it's endorsed by the emergency services and for me anyway, certainly more easy to understand and share with someone than a set of Lat/Long co-ordinates etc.

[Steve509926]

Hi Pete, that's exactly what I mean "What3Words"
Senility must be just around the corner!

[Poly]

I've used it to find daughter when she had some issues out on her bike.
I heard Belfast CG using it a few weeks ago on VHF - I couldn't hear the other half of the conversation, so I don't know who or why the other end had VHF but not able to give traditional GPS fix.
I've seen an increasing number of "outdoorsy" groups referring to locations this way.

The technology will work - its just measuring your GPS position and translating that into a relatively human readable format. That means that realistically your position is not as precise as WhatThreeWords imply (your GPS isn't going to give ±3m accuracy except in amazing circumstances), but it will be accurate - someone coming to find you will probably be in shouting distance of you. Obviously indoors etc - its no better than any other GPS.

The advantages as far as I can see are:
- if you have to verbally communicate it on the phone, vhf etc - it may be simpler for an inexperienced person to deliver 3 words and the recipient to record them than 10 digits, with possibility of deg min sec, deg min.dec or deg.dec ±for NSEW or OSGB refs with prefix letters.
- the app makes it very easy for user to text their location to another person (any other app could do this - but W3W seem to have done it quite well)
- texting means it works even if the user has data turned off (important for kids!)
- the recipient of a W3W location doesn't need to install the app or any special software

There is of course nothing wrong with the traditional tools in the hands of someone with a bit of basic training.

[Mikefule]

My family uses What3Words quite a lot.

If my son goes for a long run down country lanes and byways and wants picking up, he messages the 3 words. I then use my phone's navigation to find him. That way he can run 10 or 15 km without haivng to do a circular or out and back route.

If I had an accident on my bike, or needed "rescuing" by my wife, I'd use What3Words.

If I wanted to send details of a good place for wild swimming, or for parking a car, or where to find a particular pub, I might use it.

It also has potential uses in the mountains if you fall and break your leg and need to summon help.

It is not a substitute for proper navigation, whether in the hills or out on the water.

However, it is potentially a useful fallback option. Which is clearer if you're calling for help?
"I'm about a mile north west of Blackcliff Head"
"I'm presently at kestrel.orange.wallpaper, but drifting with the tide."

A 3 metre square fix of your position at a specific moment may be very useful indeed.

Of course, GPS apps can display the same level of accuracy in degrees, minutes and seconds, but it is less user friendly for the inexperienced crew member calling for help when the skipper has fallen overboard.

[GuyC]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Hi Pete, that's exactly what I mean "What3Words"
Senility must be just around the corner!

And you've hit the nail on the head - a slight error in the words or a misspelling puts you in the wrong place.

Senility.Round.Corner is in the Pacific about 185 miles west of Oregon. Senility.Corner.Round is 2000 miles away in the Chukchi Sea.

It is good and I use it a bit to describe locations but I think it is quite prone to errors.

[Festinghouse]

Ive had it for a while, though only used a handful of times. Very handy indeed, with so many potential uses. As others have said, its no replacement aboard a boat, but certainly a welcome addition.

[ShinyShoe]

Originally Posted by GuyC

And you've hit the nail on the head - a slight error in the words or a misspelling puts you in the wrong place.

Senility.Round.Corner is in the Pacific about 185 miles west of Oregon. Senility.Corner.Round is 2000 miles away in the Chukchi Sea.

It is good and I use it a bit to describe locations but I think it is quite prone to errors.

Ah, but it's not THAT prone to error because they have engineered some of these things to be obviously wrong.

Only uses a limited dictionary of words. So you can't have Senile and Senility.

The order matters. But its three things to order not 10 digits.

If you get the digits slightly wrong the position is plausible but wrong. Could be 10miles wrong without seeming wrong at all. I think they designed it to have, Three words will never be close in another sequence. If you called Oregon Coast guard and gave Senility corner round they are likely to ask why you called them because it's so out of location.

Not long after it launched there were some "real life" examples of it being used in emergencies.

[HDAV]

It’s a Very good example of ergonomics

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by HDAV

It’s a Very good example of ergonomics

I don't understand. Why is it an example of the study of people and working conditions?

[Mikefule]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

I don't understand. Why is it an example of the study of people and working conditions?

Ergonomics is about efficient use of energy or effort, and the W3W app could be seen in that light.

If you hold your finger on your screen over the 3 defining words for your location, you can copy them and then past them to a SMS or Whats App (etc.) post with no scope for error.

It's a good system for easily identifying, storing and communicating precise locations without long strings of digits, but it's not a substitute for proper navigation.

My biggest fear is to find myself in difficulty at a location called assistance.unnecessary.thanks

[HDAV]

It’s design around the human not the tech it’s intuitive and easy for humans to deal with rather than been awkward to use like traditional numeric forms

Ergonomics or intelligent design goes
Much either than tiliting desks

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

Not long after it launched there were some "real life" examples of it being used in emergencies.

It’s a commercial product with a very strong marketing team behind it.

My understanding is that although it is free to the end user it’s a proprietary system and they’ll be charging licensing fees to companies and organisations that want to use it.

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by Mikefule

If you hold your finger on your screen over the 3 defining words for your location, you can copy them and then past them to a SMS or Whats App (etc.) post with no scope for error.

As you can with OS Locate and a whole host of other apps that don’t require a proprietary system to operate.

I think it’s a solution to a non-problem and exists purely to make money. People seem to like it though and it looks like it’s here to stay so I expect we’ll see much more of it.

[Notebook]

Well I’m blowed

[ShinyShoe]

Yes - I don't get the business model!

The copy to SMS etc... Yup I don't get that.

The advantage is where manual transcription is needed. Posters, invites etc. Of course a QR code also avoids manual transcription. But no good by voice! So actually it's the ability to speak the location...

[Matt]

It is useful and has a place.
Mayday mayday mayday won’t get the outcome you hope for though.