Jaguar Land Rover Adds What3words Location Tech to New and Older Cars
The carmaker says the technology, which assigns a three-word label to each patch of Earth, will ease navigation.
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What3words assigns a three-word label to each patch of Earth. Jaguar Land Rover is building the technology into its vehicles' navigation systems.
Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles will get What3words location technology designed to make it easier to find spots on the planet that don't have street addresses, and even some that do, the companies said Thursday.
What3words' applies three-word labels to every 10-foot-square patch on Earth. Smartphone apps, the company's website and some navigation systems can tell you what the label is for each spot, or locate a spot if you have the three words. It's an illustration of how digital technology can reshape how we make our way through the world, especially with the help of digital maps.
The technology can be useful for pinpointing places with no address, which is why emergency services in most of the UK and some parts of the US and Canada have begun using What3words. You can tell a friend where you are at an amusement park or search and rescue personnel where on the trail you're sitting with a broken ankle. The words can be easier to remember and communicate than latitude and longitude coordinates.
And in cars, they can integrate with navigation systems, helping customers "find their way anywhere in the world without having to worry about connectivity," Mark Carter, a navigation technology executive at Jaguar Land Rover, said in a statement.
Mercedes, a What3words investor, already offers the technology in some cars. Others include Subaru, Lamborghini, Lotus, Mitsubishi and Tata Motors. Through a partnership with Here Technologies, Jaguar Land Rover will install What3words in new cars and update some earlier models with over the air software updates.