Chris Sheldrick and Jack Waley-Cohen met while playing chess at school
They have set up a business called what3words tagging every location on Earth with a string of three words
Technology is used by delivery companies and disaster relief charities
The pair say their next project may be to map the whole of Mars as well
http://dollars-vedioonline.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-etonians-whose-website-what3words.html
Two schoolfriends who met when they were on the Eton chess team have raised millions of pounds to fund a website which tags every location on Earth with a three-word code.
Chris Sheldrick and Jack Waley-Cohen's company, what3words, is used to help map parts of the world which are not covered by precise street addresses.
The pair have attracted millions in venture capital funding - and they say they may take their technology to Mars next to enable the red planet to be navigated.
The founders met at Eton and later decided to start their innovative mapping firm after becoming frustrated by the difficulties of giving precise directions.
Entrepreneurs: Chris Sheldrick, left, and Sam Waley-Cohen, right, have set up a company mapping the whole world with three-word codes
Mr Sheldrick, 34, was a promising young musician before he severed his arm after he punched a window while sleepwalking, and subsequently ran a live music business.
However, he said that roadies and delivery drivers kept getting lost because they misread the GPS co-ordinates he gave them.
He realised that GPS, which works by providing a string of 16 numbers, is a poor way of finding directions because of the high risk of human error.
So instead he teamed up with Mr Waley-Cohen, 36, whose cousin Sam is a top jockey and close friend of the Duchess of Cambridge, to devise a new method of mapping.
What3words divides the whole of Earth into a grid of squares measuring 3m by 3m, with each box given a code consisting of three ordinary English words.
Grid: This image of a small section of Hyde Park shows how the company divides the world into a grid of squares which are each tagged with three words
HOW THE INNOVATIVE MAP WORKS
What3words has divided the entire globe into 57trillion 3m-squared boxes and given each location point a code or 'address' using three words from the English dictionary.
The w33 pin can be moved around Google Maps and will show the code for the precise point where the pin has been placed.
Alternatively, users can search the site for landmarks or addresses to find that location's code.
Or three random words can be entered, each separated by a full stop, to find a surprise location.
Once a location has been identified it can be shared by email, Facebook, Twitter or GPS systems.
For example, Nelson's Column is situated in a square marked 'this.fantastic.notes', while Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh is tagged 'maybe.sling.worth' and the Statue of Liberty is at 'then.drill.moth'.
The site, which is also available as an app, uses shorter and more common words for built-up areas and more obscure references for remote locations such as Siberia and the middle of the ocean.
As well as English, what3words has mapped the world in eight other languages including Russian, Turkish and Swedish.
The company's founders claim their system is more precise than postcodes or street addresses, and is particularly helpful in rural areas and countries without a systematic network of street names and numbers.
In addition, it can be used in areas such as universities campuses, festivals and ski resorts where just one formal address covers a widespread area.
And the system of tagging locations with English words reduces the possibility of British tourists getting lost in countries such as Russia and China which use a different alphabet on street signs.
Homepage: The firm has raised millions in venture capital funding to continue its mission
Mr Sheldrick told the Daily Telegraph: 'You realise that GPS co-ordinates are great if you're a computer or a robot, but they're not good for human beings.
'You also realise that not every address points to the right place when you type it into an app on your phone.'
Postal delivery firms in chaotic urban areas of Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town are already using what3words to find addresses, while organisations including the United Nations use it during disaster recovery projects.
In addition, the British Museum has tagged all of its artifacts with the three-word code for the location where they were found.
Mr Sheldrick has hinted that the company could set its sights beyond Earth, telling the Telegraph: 'There is a lady who got in touch with us about a project - she's realised that Mars is not yet addressed. So, yeah, we're thinking about it.'
The company has raised a total of $5million (£3.5million) in seed funding since its launch in 2013, including $3.5million of venture capital investment in November last year.
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