Mygeopin - A Revolution to Tradional Localisation Systems?

After a long silence since my last post, I am delighted to command a comeback with a new localization concept which has caught my attention and served my constant search of solutions to cut the gap between the north and the south of the hemisphere: Mygeopin.

Finding a place or communicating a whereabouts is difficult at the best of times. Traditional localization systems now in use and GPS codes help out in more metropolitan areas that we live in, but even then we are confronted by erroneous addresses and assorted abbreviations that still send us astray. 

Traditional GPS localization apps, a basic element in use on smartphones have changed our lives to the point that we cannot do without. Everything works perfect as long as the system does not make confusion amongst similar addresses, if street name duplications are not an issue and the margin of error is confined to a few mishaps.

As a normal user of one of the GPS localization apps available for Android, I have directly experienced the aforementioned mishap with some good degree of frustration as I have missed my appointment a number of times and have had a hard time finding my way out to the right address. 

Now, let’s look at the “flip side” of the coin. Imagine vast low density areas, desert or polar land where there are just a few dwellings scattered here and there or simply nothing. It could be in the US, Canada, China, India, Russia, in the Sahara desert, in the rain forest in Brazil or in equatorial Africa. You also have a bunch of developing countries where there is no addressing standardisation, towns where locals know their way around only because the art of orientation and directional tips are very part of their heritage, i.e.local knowledge that have been passed down through the generations. It may sound very strange, but yes, in 2013 this is still the reality in a relatively bigger part of the world.

In my home country Cameroon, I grew up in the most populated city of Douala, the commercial capital. The whole country does not have a standard addressing system, no street name, no house numbered, etc. So how do people get around out of their habitat? How do letters reach them? Well, I have never heard any complaint or frustration related to this issue. Everyone is part of a gigantic addressing system and collaborates to make sure the system works, i.e people find their way, letters reach their destination, etc. As inefficient as backward this "system" might reasonably be, it is what it is: a basic lack of an addressing standard. 

When I heard about Mygeopin, I had a few doubts about its usefulness as I did not get the innovation it was adding to the current localization standard. I decided to reach out to the team and throw a few questions their way, just to see if this system could be error free and also to understand why the heck they might be replicating something which already exists in many versions, if they are not innovating.

Please find attached a few Q&A I have exchanged with Mygeopin team, which I have read a few times to solve my stubborn doubts.

ERIC - How would you guys shortly describe Mygeopin?

MGP - Mygeopin is a "human-friendly" geolocation system based on an algorithm developed on the "concept of administrative entity" that generates an alphanumeric code which is easy to remember and communicate. The code ensures both a unique location and extreme precision.

ERIC - How precise is Mygeopin?

MGP – Mygeopin is an alphanumeric code from 4 to 6 characters which identifies the location of a place or person within a radius of 5.5 metres.

ERIC - How is a position localized?

MGP – We identify a centroid position and calculating the precise location of the user with respect to the centroid. The centroid has a name and a fence (territory of the municipality for example). Thus, through a database with GIS (Geographic Information System) extensions, we get the centroid which falls the user's location producing a unique location code.

ERIC - Where is Mygeopin innovating vs traditional GPS apps?

MGP - This is a tool which introduces considerable advantages over the use of common systems of georeferencing, guaranteeing, at the same time, an accuracy comparable to that provided by the system of GPS coordinates.

ERIC - How can it improve the relationship between humans and technology?

Mygeopin is instant, accurate and can be associated to a unique user or individual site/place.

ERIC – How can Mygeopin help in developing countries?

Part of the problem in many developing countries are the transnational corporations which have a virtual monopoly over much of the technological infrastructures, especially communications. Mygeopin could bypass this by creating an infrastructure that works as a stand-a-lone offering direct location technology to developing regions.

Regardless of the answer which I did not buy fully, the last question was indeed a light in my mind as I thought about the benefits Mygeopin could bring to large parts of the African continent, the developing world in general and not least remote spots in the developed hemisphere (think of Siberia, Los Alamos desert in the US, the Greenland, etc.).

Assuming Mygeopin is right in its alleged precision in localization thanks to its innovative approach vs traditional systems, I deeply trust that it will construe at some point the base of a future global standard for addressing and localization because it is simple, easy to use and is built on a very simple and unique criteria: the administrative entity. As long as every piece of land on planet earth is surveyed and known to be part of a specific country, region, province, city or district, Mygeopin would likely be in the position to associate a unique, easy to remember alphanumeric code and the localization margin of error will be null. Bingo!

I can only wish very well to Mygeopin team to get recognition from their hardwork and to be understood by the mass that they've conceived a real unique thing.

Please post in your comment or doubts regarding Mygeopin.