Google plus code

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MavEtJu
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Google plus code

Post by MavEtJu » 14 March 18 10:13 pm

Expect these in a puzzle cache in the future :-)


https://9to5google.com/2018/03/13/googl ... odes-maps/

Google frequently touts that the “next billion users” will come from developing nations with different focuses and needs. To that end, the company has developed a number of optimized services, with the latest being a “simple and consistent addressing system that works across India and globally.

Google created “Plus Codes” for addresses that are not easily located through conventional descriptors like street names or house numbers. In fact, according to a World Bank estimate, half of the world’s urban population lives on unnamed streets.

Notably, this open source solution composed of 10 characters works globally and can be incorporated by other products and platforms for free, with a developer page available here.

It works offline and on print when overlaid as a grid on existing maps. Places that are close together share similar plus codes, while the system is identificable by the “+” symbol in every address.

This system is based on dividing the geographical surface of the Earth into tiny ‘tiled areas’, attributing a unique code to each of them. This code simply comprises a ‘6-character + City’ format that can be generated, shared and searched by anyone — all that’s needed is Google Maps on a smartphone.

The first four characters are the area code, describing a region of roughly 100 x 100 kilometers.
The last six characters are the local code, describing the neighborhood and the building, an area of roughly 14 x 14 meters – about the size of one half of a basketball court.

The area code is not needed when navigating within a town, while another optional character can be appended to provide additional accuracy down to a 3 x 3 meter region.

Users of Google Maps in India will be able to easily find the plus code for any area in the app, while the mapping service along with Search will support the entry of the new coordinate system. Plus codes for any location can also be found with this tool.

Google doesn’t think this new format will replace street addresses. It specifically excels in areas not serviced by conventional identifiers, with a variety of other possible uses.The postal system of Cape Verde in Africa already supports plus codes for delivering mail.

They could be used, for example, to distinguish different entrances to the same building, or to provide an exact location on a long rural road. Or they could be used for emergency services to locate the site of an accident.

Code can be found at https://github.com/google/open-location-code.

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CraigRat
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Re: Google plus code

Post by CraigRat » 15 March 18 9:18 am

Reading that I thought it looked a LOT like Open Location Code, which it is.

It's an excellent idea, especially in underdeveloped parts of the world. Not sure if the 14x14m resolution is good enough for us to implement (we put UTM on the cache pages, but that is a 1x1 resolution reference.)

Will watch with interest!

MavEtJu
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Re: Google plus code

Post by MavEtJu » 15 March 18 10:18 am

The best URL for playing with them is https://plus.codes/map/.

Edwin

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Re: Google plus code

Post by MavEtJu » 15 March 18 10:41 am

CraigRat wrote:Not sure if the 14x14m resolution is good enough for us to implement
That 14x14m is the limitation of the "two character behind the +" notation. If you want 3x3m you just add another character to it: X43F+75 vs X43F+753.

You have the same issue with the degrees decimal minutes notation if you limit yourself to three digits behind the comma.

As usual it's only a representation of the real -34.8123879123, 150.8127398712 style numbers into something which is more suitable for us humans to work with :-)

Edwin

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J_&_J
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Re: Google plus code

Post by J_&_J » 15 March 18 5:28 pm

MavEtJu wrote:The best URL for playing with them is https://plus.codes/map/.

Edwin
Thanks for the link. :D

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Richary
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Re: Google plus code

Post by Richary » 15 March 18 8:42 pm

So just a variation of what3words (which I have already seen used in a mystery) but with less resolution (as standard). But of course google want to control everything :?

MavEtJu
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Re: Google plus code

Post by MavEtJu » 15 March 18 8:55 pm

Richary wrote:So just a variation of what3words (which I have already seen used in a mystery) but with less resolution (as standard). But of course google want to control everything :?
Euhm... Close but no fish:

What3words is a proprietary database which you need to query if you want to do translations.

Plus code / Open Location Code is an open published standard which you can use their implementations or write your own.

Edwin

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Re: Google plus code

Post by Laighside Legends » 15 March 18 8:57 pm


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