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What 3 Words

Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2021 8:54 pm
by ds47uk
Hi,
I was thinking of using What3Words as my Secondary Location Format, since in the UK at least the emergency services are starting to recommend its use for emergency callouts. However it is not in the list of alternatives. I suspect that this may be for one of two reasons - 1) Copyright or 2) Memory/processor requirements to provide the location.

Any comments on W3W?

Re: What 3 Words

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 7:57 am
by Psyberia-Support
Hi,
Right now you can only "Search" a place using this format, but not the other way.
The reason is that the geocoding process (get a w3w address from a location) can only be done by the w3w online service. This is not a simple conversion method that can be done locally, and can take some time depending on the network speed. And of course requires a constant connection...
This is why we prefer "Open" formats like OLC (Open Location Format), QCT, UTM, etc which all work offline and are not centralized by a single entity.

Re: What 3 Words

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 8:10 am
by ds47uk
OK
Thanks for the information