Austin and Travis County emergency officials say a free app called What3words might help first responders more quickly locate anyone in need of assistance during Austin City Limits Music Festival, which starts this weekend and runs Oct. 7-9 and Oct. 14-16.
In a tweet, the ATCEMS account said the first information 911 operators need from callers is their location.
"#ATCEMS encourages all festival goers to download @what3words to assist in locating you or even locating people in your group," they said.
The iPhone and Android app was developed by London-based What3words Ltd., which was founded in 2013. It splits up local areas into smaller dimensions to allow call handlers to pinpoint distressed callers to an exact 10-square-foot location. In essence, it converts GPS coordinates into three-word addresses. In the case of an emergency, a caller can use the program app or online map system to provide a three-word location to 911 operators.
It can also be used to locate friends or locations of interest. For example, the company notes this link will lead you to this year’s ACL Wine Lounge off Lou Neff Road near the festival. You can also send your location to people who don't have the app, which then sends them to a webpage with location. That can then be used in Google Maps or other navigation services to generate directions to the location. The location service also works via its website, what3words.com.
"Getting lost at a festival is all part of the experience, but in an emergency saying 'I'm by a big flag' is not particularly useful for the dispatchers on the other end of the phone," What3words Chief Marketing Officer Giles Rhys Jones stated. "With the complexity of large events, medical and emergency response teams need to know exactly where help is needed and communicating a location in a simple and accurate way can make all the difference."
The app's first Texas launch was in Austin, and it has been used locally throughout the year.
It is also being used by Dallas Police Department and Dallas Fire Rescue. The company also says the app has been in action for a several years at the Glastonbury music festival and at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The company says the location technology is used by 85% of emergency services in the United Kingdom.
Delivery companies, infrastructure and real estate organizations and ridesharing apps are also among use cases the company is targeting.
Meanwhile, Austin-area officials have laid out other safety guidelines, and they remind folks that they're active on Twitter.
City Hall said it will use Twitter and Facebook to push out news and alerts across accounts for the Austin Police Department, Austin-Travis County EMS, Austin Fire Department and Austin Emergency Management. Meanwhile, ACL Fest will use those channels, in addition to Instagram and its own app.
Emergency officials urge people to call 911 for emergencies and use 311 for non-emergencies, such as thefts. Learn more about transportation and safety here.
The What3words app is among several that help people locate each other. Austin startup Bthere, for example, rolled out its location sharing app in 2016. In addition to Google and other big tech options, you can also find other apps, such as Zenly and Companion, that offer users ways to share location and travel routes with selected friends.
