Figured I'd start a thread as I came across something interesting but didn't know where to share it- AFAIK there's no Random Tech thread or Interesting Tech thread...
Just came across this:
https://what3words.com/They have a website and apps. A=The apps work offline.
I heard about it from a police report saying that they successfully used this to locate someone lost in a forest. Not sure how exactly they used it- maybe the guy had what3words and was able to tell them his location, or maybe they used it internally. From a quick google search it sounds like it's used internally by some police/EMS as it's more accurate than an address or coordinates, and it seems that emergency dispatchers in some places also have it in case a caller has their W3W location.
My first question was how is this different from long./lat. coordinates, but their selling point seems to be that it's a easier to tell someone over the phone, etc. Though online reviews caution that sometimes similar words are used in close proximity so there can be mix-ups when words are said over the phone/radio, which seems to be a flaw.
People also mention using it to meet up with someone in a big mall, park, etc. In that sense it seems to work exactly like coordinates, except that practically speaking nobody ever gives someone their coordinates when trying to find them and maybe this catches on a bit easier.
Thought it was interesting enough to share.
