Lotus is integrating What3words’ word-based navigation tool into its app, which will allow drivers to set a 3×3 meter square piece of earth as their destination. The app will then take care of routing and navigation, and the car will display turn-by-turn instructions on their instrument cluster. I guess super rich people aren’t wealthy because they always know how to get to where they’re going, huh. [Read: 3 new technologies ecommerce brands can use to connect better with customers] As brilliant as satellite navigation systems are, they aren’t perfect. Sometimes they guide you down roads that no longer exist, or won’t know what’s going on if you travel down new roads. Many will also be aware of how painful it can be navigating to post codes that cover large geographical areas. What3words however, takes a unique approach to solving these problems. The navigation and mapping app has split the world up into 3×3 meter squares, and then labeled each with a three word name. This means navigating to the middle of nowhere, with no address, is as easy as putting in the three words, and letting the route planner section of the app do the rest. While Lotus is putting the tech in its hyper expensive, all-electric supercar, first, it’s also going to bring the functionality to the rest of its vehicles starting from this year. So it’s not just going to be a toy of the rich, some regular folk might actually get a chance to use this too. And well, if you don’t drive a Lotus, you can always just download the regular What3words app, and pretend. Do EVs excite your electrons? Do ebikes get your wheels spinning? Do self-driving cars get you all charged up? Then you need the weekly SHIFT newsletter in your life. Click here to sign up.
