I feel old telling you this...but I don't quite understand how this is going to make your navigation system easier to use.
Perhaps my inner old man is coming out, but I'm not typically one to rail against fresh technology and new ways of doing things.
I'm talking about the announcement last week that Mercedes-Benz is partnering with a company called what3words with the aim of making your navigation system smarter and easier to use.
That sounds great, but the technology behind it is a bit confusing. what3words has created a map that divides the world into squares measuring 3.0 by 3.0 meters. Each of those 9.0-square meter blocks are then given a 3-word address. It's here where I begin to lose my understanding of it all.
Rather than a traditional address, the what3words address is simply made up of three words. The navigation system understands that these three words refer to a specific set of coordinates and can route you efficiently and correctly. My problem comes with the fact that it's going to be a lot easier for me to remember a specific address than it is three randomly assigned words.
In the video, you can see that these address squares are named in total nonsense fashion. A square in Mataró, Spain has an address of "catching.renews.sketches." while a square in London is named "cool.view.spark." How this makes finding your way around a city is simply baffling. I get that it makes the literal act of talking to your nav system a bit easier, but translating three mashed-up words into a physical address seems odd on one level and quite crazy on another.
Mercedes must have faith in the system though, as the automaker will be employing the system in its cars in the near future. All we can say is "good.luck.then"...which would bring you to a spot in the ocean off the shore of Sydney.
Seriously.
