If water main breaks, there is an electricity outage, a pothole is found on the street or there is an incident at a large sporting event people will often post about it on social media. This data can be key in improving response time and giving valuable operational information.
By collecting this data along with other sources, DataCapable enables utilities and other corporations to respond to events faster, while interacting with customers on the platforms they prefer.
The what3words technology simply converts these geotagged locations from GPS coordinates into a communicable 3 word address, with all locations pinned to a map of real-time information so responders have the geolocated data they need.
DataCapable develops products for intelligence event detection and real-time visualization of event data with customers and internal teams. Their flagship product UtiliSocial “ a comprehensive Social Engagementplatform - enables digital communications between customers and utility operators and brand managers.
This includes the ability to interact via text messaging, social media, and the emerging field of geo listening - finding social content related to events through applying advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques. what3words is an innovative new addressing system that has assigned a unique 3 word address to every 3m x 3m square on the planet. This enables much simpler communication of specific location, with emergency services and others using it in internal and external communications, as well as asset management. The free what3words apps are used in 170 countries, by businesses, governments and NGOs, and the technology is
integrated with Esri's ArcGIS platform.
Both startups on the Esri Startups programme, what3words and DataCapable have partnered to bring simple communication of location to companies via UtiliSocial. Endusers can seamlessly share their locations with utility companies through social media and SMS, providing situational awareness of events. This can include power outages, water main breaks, and emergency response during incidents such as natural disasters.
At Seattle City Light, for example, operators of UtiliSocial are able to visualize the 3 word addresses of events, as shared by customers across social media. Customers will also be able message Seattle City Light Operators their 3 word address for the reporting of grid
events, damage, theft, etc. This includes sharing information on poorly addressed locations, such as transmission and distribution power lines that cross through the fields and wooded areas.
This technology can also be used by first responders and emergency services, with DataCapable mining social media for critical data to improve reporting during incidents in real time. With the UN's Hashtag Standards for Emergencies recommending the use of what3words by civilians and responders, DataCapable's technology ensures responders of all types “ from emergency to utilities management “ have the data they need in a simple, communicable form.
