 Poster: A snowHead
|
Searched forum to see if already covered, couldn't find but apologies if it's been discussed.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/What3words
Anyone seen the above system that appears to be of use to many levels of location finding when discussing the topic on here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Downloaded this morning after seeing it on Beeb website - seems immensely useful
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
Seeing as this topic has suddenly appeared on every forum I use this morning, and judging by the MTB forum many of us use, I assume they've just spent a metric shedload of their proprietary earnings on another massive PR effort?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
I had heard about the three word description of squares sometime ago, probably in New Scientist. The app has obviously been written to exploit the system. I can see how useful it could be, especially in locating someone in an emergency. I also downloaded it this morning to try it out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
| Boris wrote: |
| Downloaded this morning after seeing it on Beeb website - seems immensely useful |
+1
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
Used just this weekend gone to locate some walkers lost in Hamsterley forest.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Built by the brother of a friend of my business partner. (only 3 degrees of separation...)
Used it for a while - for creating passwords! - but having read the Beeb this morning, downloaded the app for the phone.
Not that I am intending to get locked in a shipping container...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LoadOfCrap
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
Must be excellent then. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
can be very useful for uber, airbnb and the likes in remote or poorly mapped locations
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
I've been using what3words for a few years now. Very useful for anywhere without a specific street address - for example, when I was meeting someone in a very crowded Edinburgh station the other day. Or for directions to a natural site e.g. a hidden cave, start of a path, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
| denfinella wrote: |
| I've been using what3words for a few years now. Very useful for anywhere without a specific street address - for example, when I was meeting someone in a very crowded Edinburgh station the other day. Or for directions to a natural site e.g. a hidden cave, start of a path, etc. |
share location with messaging app to meet someone
look on google maps for start of path. drop pin & hit directions.
It fixes a problem we dont have.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It's a really elegant solution though, shall use it, can't believe I've never seen it. Agree that it will be excellent for password generation also.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
if you like simple dictionary words in your passwords, then yes.
passwords are on the verge of being history though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
@Mr.Egg, what3words is more reliable (3x3 metre box) than phone location - which in a city or inside a building is liable to jump about. Three words are also easier to memorise - that's why we still use street addresses rather than latitude and longitude coordinates!
As for paths - I'm talking about paths and places which aren't easily visible on google maps.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
@andy, as a starting point, rather than an end-point! And agree they are ont the way out: but it will be a while before everyone manages to get to MFA or equivalent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
I can see a fun version of global battleships where you try to hit land. My first attempt with banana.shark.cucumber was but metres from teh beach in Okinawa in a real life callback.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
Hmmm, ski doesn’t appear to be a word they use, closest for ski.snow.mountain was skin.snow.mountain however snow.head.forum is a parking lot somewhere in North America
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
snow.bashed.head is in Hokkaido
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
If it is adopted by emergency services, and that's becoming the case, then it's a no-brainer to have it on your phone. Otherwise they generally want a postcode. If you are stranded in some remote location, it's unlikely you'd know a postcode. Yes grid-reference or lat-long are perfectly good existing solutions, were it not for the fact that emergency services apparently aren't equipped to handle them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hmmm skiing.snow.head is in the Canadian Northwest Territories and boarding.snow.head is in Turkey
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
Not really as far as the UK goes, as AFAIK emergency services won't accept it.
This is really another VHS versus Betamax story. It's no use arguing you have a better solution if the world is adopting the other one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advanced Mobile Location is probably already enabled on most smartphones. It's a British creation, already in operation in UK, US, half of EEA countries and EU made it compulsory for all EU countries to support it by next year.
You call the emergency number, and it automatically turns on your phone's location services, and sends your location via SMS. If you have phone signal for emergency services (which roam over all networks), you have SMS. You might not have data, and although W3W say that 85% of UK land mass has 4G, but chances are that remaining 15% is the bit that's going to include all the hilly bits where people like to go MTBing, hiking, climbing, etc. Where I'm going next week, most definitely does not have data coverage, but does have GSM. Maybe about 2 miles away from a decent sized Scottish town.
W3W was certainly a neat innovation 5-6 years ago. But you can't beat completely automatic for ease of use.
AML / Google Emergency Location Service is enabled on mine. Google say it's enabled by default from Gingerbread onwards (that's quite a few versions ago). No idea from which IOS version Apple included it. So it's probably enabled on yours too.
Since they're a commercial company, I can only assume their PR guys did a(nother) big push for awareness of their product, and BBC likes doing advertorials for such companies. For the 999 calls, in theory their business has just been pulled from under their feet, and replaced with something totally free, and totally automatic. So that just leaves general use like telling someone where to meet, or a destination where a post code won't work etc. (or a Mercedes Benz car). For which there are several competing products. And the Google one should be totally independent of language etc. (it just hasn't caught on, and nobody knows about it other than maybe seeing peculiar codes if they look in Google Maps)
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
@andy, this AML sounds interesting. I hadnt heard about it, thanks.
Looks like its in from iOS 11.3.
The BBC does seem to do a few of these advertorial articles these days. Lazy journalism with little critique but not different to years ago I worked at a start up and journalists used to write verbatim material we gave them on out company/product, but we were ground breaking at the time.  .
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
On a recent ski course I was recommended an app - https://echo112.com/en/ - which does what Andy says - calls the emergency services and which lets them know your location. It's been used in Swiss ski resorts for a few years but can be used anywhere.
One of those things that you want on your phone but hope that you never have to use!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Does have its uses for coming up with the funniest word combos, though.
I often visit committed psycho gingers for the views when riding bike thru the forest to Frankenstein's Castle.
Or slog up the hill to gigantic harvested cuddles.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
@andy, 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
The international emergency number 112 already gives a location to the emergency services in the UK when they pick up the call. 999 does not.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
It depends on a number of factors, and what solutions control rooms have in place, but many police forces do get approx location when you call 999 from mobile
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
@Boris, interesting as my information came from a CPR refresher course this week held at our GP practice. We were advised as professionals to use 112 rather than 999 for several reasons including the ability to give an exact location.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
| andy wrote: |
if you like simple dictionary words in your passwords, then yes.
passwords are on the verge of being history though. |
Surely you'd be better off with H15t0ry Andy
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
It's incredibly useful in France. They only have town codes, not postcodes. Many properties have no names or numbers and are on streets with no visible names.
It's no wonder the French don't do on-line shopping.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
| Hells Bells wrote: |
| The international emergency number 112 already gives a location to the emergency services in the UK when they pick up the call. 999 does not. |
According to http://www.mountainsafety.co.uk/EP-999-or-112-Which-is-Best-aspx that is not correct.
In the UK, 999 and 112 do the same thing, namely connect you to the emergency services. Neither number has priority over the other, and neither number provides location information better than the other. They are the same
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
@dogwatch, I will question our CPR trainer about this. He was very sure.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Hells Bells wrote: |
| @dogwatch, I will question our CPR trainer about this. He was very sure. |
It will give them your address if you phone from a landline. 112 and AMS as described by @andy can communicate so if you are using a phone which has AMS capability they will be able to pinpoint your location at the time of the call.
Here are the ofcom rules.
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0023/83075/emergency_mobile_location_information_statement.pdf
AMS was being introduced at around this time. 999 and 112 will connect you to the same control centre. The idea behind 112 is to make it the same in any country.
The only drawback of AMS is that it will only provide your location while the call is active. You can't use it to order your groceries and if you move after the call has ended they won't find you. This could all be fixed by a simple app. All the protocols and procedures already exist if you are using maritime VHF with DSC and AIF. Just DSC on its own is plenty. You hold down the distress button for 5 seconds and it will keep pinging us your location until you turn it off or we fish you out and turn it off. It would be a simple step to have AMS continue transmitting location after the call has ended but before the distress call has been cancelled.
It wouldn't take much more to use it to organise a meeting place.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Having been in a 999 control room on a number of occasions 999 can find your location as they triangulate via towers and can fix you on a map to within a few tens of metres. This obviously works better in London than Pen y Fan but it can be done without any whizzy programmes on your phone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
| justabod wrote: |
| Having been in a 999 control room on a number of occasions 999 can find your location as they triangulate via towers and can fix you on a map to within a few tens of metres. This obviously works better in London than Pen y Fan but it can be done without any whizzy programmes on your phone. |
Explain how that works when you are on a beach, the tide is coming in and you have intermittent signal from one mast?
Even if you have a signal from three masts it isn't an exact science and can take some time to get a very rough approximation. You'd be lucky to get within 100 meters. That is a 10,000 square metre search area. If someone can't respond you need to have a lot of resources on the ground to search that area. Using GPS and DSC we can pinpoint the broadcast point to less than 1 metre. GPS is slightly less efficient on land because the sea doesn't have many elevation changes but we could probably get within 10 metres very quickly. That makes the search area 100 square metres rather than 10,000. Triangulation is OK but it wouldn't be difficult to provide a more accurate solution
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Probably less accurate in a built up area due to reflections/blockage etc.
But 100mx100m isn't a massive area to search in!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
