Groundbreaking location service What3words coming to millions of cars

A groundbreaking geolocation service which splits the world into small easily identified segments is to be added to millions of cars thanks to a new partnership.

The deal will see What3words added to the Here service which powers the sat nav in millions of models from major brands such as Ford, BMW, Volkswagen, Kia, Hyundai and Land Rover.

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Here is embedded in the sat nav systems of 80 per cent of all new cars and its new partnership means that users will be able to use What3words’ tagging system to set locations either by typing them in or using voice commands.

What3words works by breaking the globe down into 3m by 3m squares and assigning each square a unique three-word label, such as ///traps.handle.hunt.

Its creators claim that it is far more accurate than relying on an address or postcode.

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Chris Sheldrick, CEO and co-founder of What3words said: “Using a traditional address in a vehicle can be a bad experience. They are clunky and lengthy to type, and even a voice assistant will often mishear you. Once the address is accepted, it won’t take you to a precise location, such as the specific entrance you need, it’ll route you to where the pin drops - which is often the centre of the building.

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“By using What3words, drivers need simply to enter three words and know they will arrive at that precise three-metre square.”

Mr Sheldrick said he expected the system to quickly be available in brand new cars and older vehicles with a compatible sat nav system using Here technology.

Jørgen Behrens, of Here Technologies, added: “[Car makers] can now provide the What3words service to their customers through the Here Search API instead of having to integrate it themselves. This will allow drivers to navigate easily in dense, urban environments with non-standard addressing schemes or seamlessly get to any location, be it a local pub or a trailhead.”