Addressing the world
Addressing the world
To make it as easy as possible for businesses to accept and display 3 word addresses, we’ve made it simple to add a what3words input field with AutoSuggest, address validation and country clipping – with just two lines of code.
Here’s a quick walk through of how it works.
Our AutoSuggest widget is a versatile input field that can be used within JavaScript web sites for a range of uses, from checkout pages, to a search bar for ride-hailing, or adding to forms for census data collection.
The result:
[working example]
The code:
[code sample]
Tutorial:
The input uses the powerful features of the what3words API V3 to provide accurate suggestions as the user enters a 3 word address. These suggestions can be refined to only display results from specific countries.
The input also contains validation to check whether the inputted text is a valid 3 word address and alerts the user if the 3 word address is not valid. The HTML attributes of the element can be used to further customise the element with the ability to adjust characteristics such as placeholder text, the number of suggested results, country clipping and focus. Simply adding the property, for example, clipToCountry=”GB” restricts results to England. Event handlers can also be harnessed to enable page content to be dynamically changed once text has been input.
Learn how to customise the attributes of the input or use event handlers in this tutorial.
The what3words Embed Code Generator is an easy way to create a customised 3 word address hyperlink with an informative tooltip, in two lines of code.
The result:
[working example]
The code:
[code sample]
<div class=”w3w-embed w3w-small“><style type=”text/css“>@import url(“https://ift.tt/30tqqhp); </style> <div class=”w3w-address notranslate“> <i class=”w3w-logo-slashes w3w-red“><svg x=”0px“ y=”0px“ viewBox=”0 0 32 32“><path fill=”currentColor“ d=”M10.7,4h2L4,28H2L10.7,4z M19.7,4h2L13,28h-2L19.7,4z M28.7,4h2L22,28h-2L28.7,4z“></path></svg></i>daring.lion.race </div><div class=”w3w-popup“> <div class=”w3w-popup-inner“> what3words gives every 3m x 3m in the world a unique 3 word address. This one describes the precise entrance of the building. <a href=”https://ift.tt/1HkWAzo“ target=”_blank“>Click here to learn more.</a> </div></div></div>
[screenshot of a 3wa embedded on a page]
How do the widgets work?
The AutoSuggest widget and the embed code generator are both part of our what3words.js product, which provides a developer kit for JavaScript. They make use of web components to create custom elements with their own HTML tags that can be rendered on a standard HTML web page and supported by modern internet browsers. HTML attributes can be used to adjust the appearance and functionality of a component.
We used StencilJS to build 100% web standards compliant components that are small, performant and versatile. StencilJS powers the Ionic Framework used for cross-platform development and was a great choice to ensure we could build and deploy lightweight components compatible with a wide range of browsers.
The custom components can be used within all of the major JavaScript frameworks, for example React, Angular or no framework at all. You can load the components into a site using a script tag in the header of a site.
Getting started with our widget
This tutorial outlines the steps to adding what3words to your site and how the element can be customised using HTML properties.
We’re looking forward to adding more new and exciting components over the coming months.
Join us!
Interested in developing exciting products using new technologies to make an impact on hundreds of thousands of people around the world?
Our team is on a mission to create the global standard for communicating location. We’re making the world an easier, more efficient and safer place for everyone.
You’ll be joining a group of talented people from all over the world on an unprecedented journey. Every day brings new challenges and we are always learning. At what3words, you will be proud to see your individual and team contributions making a real difference.
Visit https://what3words.com/jobs to find out more.
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Canopy & Stars, which curates some of the most inspiring and remote stays in the great outdoors, has calculated that British travellers lose over 26 million holiday hours each year1 just trying to find the places they want to visit. In glamping terms, that’s over one million days of lazing in the hot tub and toasting marshmallows around the campfire wasted.
To help guests find their remote cabin, hidden treehouse or isolated bothy easily, the company has enlisted the help of what3words. The system divides the world into 3m squares and assigns each one a unique 3 word address that is easy to share and navigate to. A 3 word address is far more accurate than a postcode or directions, and Canopy & Stars will be adding one for every location so guests don’t get lost on the way.
After booking a Canopy & Stars stay, you will be able to see the 3 word address you need to travel to on the location tab on the Canopy & Stars website or in your confirmation email. Enter it into the free what3words app using text or voice, then tap ‘Navigate here’ to get directions there through your preferred navigation app. The what3words app works offline so you can enter 3 word addresses and navigate there without a connection. Find out more about using what3words to find your Canopy & Stars here.
Here are some of Canopy & Stars’ most remote stays, along with their 3 word addresses.
1. Carswell Beach Hut, Devon, United Kingdom – ///clown.shunts.quitter
Escape into a forgotten cove, listen to the waves from the wood fired hot tub and watch the sun on the waters of the South Devon coast – www.canopyandstars.co.uk/carswellbeachhut
2. Caru Cabin, Dordogne, France – ///penalties.slate.unloads
This fairytale cabin is perched on a wooden platform extending over its own pond. Incredible, and the whole thing was crafted by hand – www.canopyandstars.co.uk/
3. The Lake, Cornwall, United Kingdom – ///rebirth.code.cassettes
A converted shipping container washed up on the shore of its own private lake, with nobody but wild ponies for company – www.canopyandstars.co.uk/thelake
4.Dragon Cruck, Powys, United Kingdom – ///haggle.bulge.boarded
Enjoy lovely views of the remote Vrynwy valley from the deck, fire bowl and king-sized bed of this beautifully crafted and carved cabin – www.canopyandstars.co.uk/dragoncruck
5.Treetop Fiddan, Vest-Agder, Norway – ///kortest.forbehold.oppstart
Row across the lake, light the wood burner for campfire snacks and tell tales of adventure in this treetop idyll on its own island – www.canopyandstars.co.uk/treetopfiddan
6. The Lodge, Cumbria, United Kingdom – ///protect.objecting.nesting
This lonely cabin on the wooded banks of the river Eamont will remind you that life is sometimes best enjoyed slow and wild – www.canopyandstars.co.uk/thelodge
7. Wardhill Castle Hideaway Bothy, Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom – ///headless.raft.boomed
A stone bothy, crackling wood-burner, big bath and the woods of a Scottish estate all to yourself, except for the friendly Shetland ponies – www.canopyandstars.co.uk/wardhillcastlehideawaybothy
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StreetDots is a digital marketplace that connects independent businesses in food, beverage and retail with the best flexible trading locations in different cities. Its network includes over 250 pitches -‘dots’ – found in vibrant, open spaces – outside stadiums, office complexes, business parks, high streets and university campuses.
StreetDots has integrated what3words into its bespoke mobile booking app to enhance the user experience. Every dot in the platform has been allocated a precise, human-friendly 3 word address. Now, users can seamlessly discover, book and access the trading locations they want, in just a few clicks.
As StreetDots plans to expand globally, accurate 3 word addresses, in multiple languages, will make it easier for traders to tell customers exactly where to find them, anywhere in the world.
Atholl Milton, COFounder says “We can trust that vendors are setting up in the correct locations thanks to what3words, which helps to direct our users to dots hassle-free.”
How did StreetDots integrate what3words
To adopt what3words, StreetDots incorporated our API into its internal systems. You can find out more about our API here, or request access to an API key now.
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Altereo is a large French holding company for a number of engineering-consultancies and IT companies that develop infrastructure and utility management solutions for a global customer base.
To make it even simpler for its clients to manage their assets, Altereo has integrated what3words into its KIS (Knowledge Information System), which is an advanced online GIS platform. Now, customers can easily identify any object’s location, for example a water meter, by searching for its 3 word address directly in the platform. The integration also offers easy discovery of 3 word addresses for any given asset.
A significant number of Altereo’s global customers are located on the African continent or countries where a lack of street addressing has, historically, presented many challenges for asset management systems. Now, with human-friendly and accurate 3 word addresses, KIS makes it simple for utilities and local governments to quickly dispatch teams to exactly the right place.
Christian Laplaud, CEO said: ‘what3words is a leading edge geolocation solution. We instantly saw its potential for bringing even more value to our advanced software system. I’m excited to see all the possibilities it offers combined with KIS.’
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what3words will be a key feature for the Chinese OEM, Bordrin, who will launch their iV6 with in-built what3words navigation when it hits the road in the first quarter of 2020 – being the first Chinese OEM to announce an integration with the location technology partner.
With Chinese consumers leading the way on the use of voice technologies, and with the increasing demands from Chinese drivers for tech-first cars, it’s time for a new, digital addressing system for China and the world.
Says Clare Jones, what3words CCO, ‘We are thrilled to be partnering with such an exciting challenger brand in the EV field, Bordrin. Bordrin iV6 is the first Chinese car with embedded what3words location technology. We have found the pace of business and change in China completely invigorating, and are inspired by possibilities for what3words to improve customer experience in the very important Chinese automotive sector.’
Grace Gao, Senior Director of Smart Connectivity of Bordrin, said: “By integrating what3words into Bordrin vehicles, we are enabling our drivers to seamlessly navigate the modern world – from the busy city centres to their (sub)urban retreats. By speaking just 3 words to our all new iV6, our customers can easily embark on an intelligent drive and discover incredible experiences.”
Established in 2016, Bordrin has world premiered two premium intelligent electric SUVs, Bordrin iV6 and Bordrin iV7, and three original electric platforms, i-LP, i-MP and i-SP, in April. As Bordrin’s first production model, the intelligent electric crossover iV6 will start production in the end of 2019 and hit the market in the first quarter of 2020.
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To help improve the user experience, Chinese Tier 1 supplier Pachira has integrated what3words into its advanced speech technology solutions.
Pachira is part of the Navinfo group who is one of the largest digital map providers in the world.
The partnership will help make voice navigation more user-friendly, accurate and efficient. A 3 word address is very easy to enter into any car navigation system, manually or via speech recognition.
Traditional addresses were not designed for voice input and China has particularly complex addresses which are difficult to input with voice. For example, there are many 博爱路（Bo Ai Road) in Nanjing and several 中山东路 （Zhongshan East Road) in Shanghai which can lead to confusion when navigating in cities with which you are not familiar.
‘Pachira develops highly innovative, market-leading voice recognition and language processing systems, so what3words is delighted to be included in their offering. With the integration of our technology, OEMS can offer a near-effortless navigation experience for their drivers – using just three words.’ said Clare Jones, what3words Chief Commercial Officer
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Mela is a Malta-based express courier company that provides last-mile delivery services through its fleet of scooters and vans.
For faster, more reliable deliveries and a smoother customer experience, the logistics company has integrated what3words. Now customers can specify exact pick-up and drop-off points by entering their 3 word address into the 3 word address field of each order creation page. This level of accuracy enables Mela.Biz to execute last mile deliveries faster and more efficiently – ensuring that customers receive their documents, packages and parcels at the time promised.
To help customers understand how its easy to identify the 3 word address of specific delivery locations, the order page links to this short explainer video:
‘Mela has built its reputation as an innovative, efficient and reliable courier and delivery service, working with both corporate and retail businesses. As part of our ongoing mission to increase efficiency and improve customer satisfaction, we sought to find a solution that would allow us to speed up our deliveries by eliminating the time wasted by our couriers to locate recipient addresses’ said XYZ, ABC at Mela.
‘what3words brings the potential to significantly improve our efficiency, allowing couriers to reach the destination address seamlessly, even to the narrowest of roads and the remotest of locations within the island’,he added.
Mela is now working to extend the what3words integration into its food delivery platform, Mela.Delivery.
How did Mela integrate what3words?
To adopt what3words, Mela incorporated our API into its internal systems. You can find out more about our API here, or request access to an API key now.
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Quench, an on demand alcohol delivery company based in South Africa, is using what3words to make deliveries easier and more efficient.
This integration means that Quench customers can now shop for their drinks and get them delivered to a precise 3 word address by simply inputting a 3 word address into the Quench app.
“Partnering with what3words is going to have a huge impact on our customer experience.” says Quench CEO and Co-founder Dr Werner Roux. “It means that our customers no longer need to worry about the driver getting lost and can relax while waiting for their drinks to arrive”
With what3words, Quench is now able to streamline its process and reduce addressing uncertainties for their customers.
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UK online business directory, Cylex, has integrated what3words, enabling businesses to offer customers an easier way to find their exact entrances.
It’s easy for businesses to add their 3 word address to their contact details by:
Businesses can identify their 3 word address within Cylex by repositioning the red map pin on the ‘Map and routing’ page.
The precision of what3words to 3m x 3m means that customers can easily navigate to local businesses that list their 3 word address, hassle-free.
At the same time, people can find the businesses nearest to their current 3 word address by entering their 3 word address to the search bar – without the need for a street address. Businesses close by will then display in the search results.
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We are proud to announce the launch of what3words in the Chinese market, with Mercedes-Benz， Neusoft and Mor.AI, as first movers in China’s automobility industry.
what3words is available in all Mercedes-Benz’s new A-class models with the built-in MBUX infotainment system. what3words, with voice-input powered by Nuance, will also come as a default feature in all other new MBUX-enabled vehicles launched in China, including the GLE being premiered today at Auto Shanghai.
After being the first automotive brand to launch what3words in the Western market, Mercedes-Benz was keen to ensure it did the same in China, a market in which it consistently brings the latest in innovation. Sajjad Khan, Executive Vice President for Connectivity, Autonomous, Sharing and Electric, Daimler AG says, “We have had incredibly positive feedback from consumers who have tried what3words in MBUX-enabled vehicles around the world. It was critical for us to bring this world-first to China as well, as we know our customers will see real value in this simple and most accurate voice navigation. We worked closely with what3words to ensure the feature was optimized specifically for the Chinese market, just as we do with all of our models and features.”
Key automobility Tier 1 supplier, Mor.AI, is also integrating what3words into its advanced speech recognition solution and Car OS solution.
These exciting partnerships mean that now more and more drivers in China can enter a 3 word address, in Chinese, by voice or text to navigate to any 3m x 3m destination.
A 3 word address is very easy to enter into any car navigation system, manually or via speech recognition. To prevent errors, every 3 word address is unique, and similar addresses are located far apart to avoid confusion. The intelligent AutoSuggest feature helps drivers to spot and correct their mistakes immediately. If someone needs to drive to a hotel in Xuzhou City, they will usually have to input a long address such as Mountain top of Dangkou Park, Zenhgxin Road, Xuzhou City.. Now they can simply say ‘navigate to 放缓 有名 当家’ – and know they’ll arrive at the correct front door.
The 三词地址 app
The 三词地址 app works with AutoNavi, one of China’s leading mapping companies, ensuring 3 word addresses display correctly given China’s unique coordinates system. Over 100 Chinese language consultants were also hired to develop the bespoke Chinese word list. The 三词地址 app has been initially launched with Simplified Chinese, with a Traditional character version launching soon. The Simplified and Traditional maps will work together, meaning the Traditional phrase 雨傘 will be in the same place as the Simplified phrase 雨伞. The app is also equipped with the same highly accurate speech recognition system as the global app, which is powered by Nuance, the global leader in AI-powered speech recognition for the car. Nuance’s platform has been optimized for the what3words Chinese word list, including recognition of Putonghua pronunciation, with more languages to come in the future.
Traditional street addressing is not built for a seamless voice input. For example, multiple streets in the same area can have the same name, meaning that the driver or the car risks selecting the wrong destination. Many addresses are also very similar; just one character entered incorrectly can send a driver far from their intended location. There are two streets in Beijing called 人民路 （Renmin road) and 仁民路 (Remin road), but are 6km apart. And lastly – traditional addresses lack the accuracy that 21st century devices need. Take iconic Chinese shopping malls and stadiums, there is often only one address, meaning finding the specific entrances, car parks or meeting points can be very frustrating.
In London alone, there are 14 Church roads. In Germany, there are more than 400,000 individual street names and the country’s database needs constant updates to cope with urbanisation and new builds. In China, many people don’t use street addresses, they refer to Points of Interest (POIs). There are more than 56 million POIs in the country and most of them will appear as pins in the middle of buildings, making it hard to find the right entrance, or specific pick-up or drop-off locations.
Street addresses don’t cover lots of places people drive to. Beaches, parks and scenic viewpoints all have roads and car parks, but no addresses to use for navigation. Drivers generally enter the address of the nearest building and then try to work it out themselves – hardly a smooth and enjoyable experience.
what3words is the solution in each of these scenarios. It is the simplest way to communicate location with accuracy. It is also the only addressing system designed for voice, meaning that drivers can easily enter 3 word addresses by voice to navigate exactly where they need to be.
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