Locations are more accurate OverHere!

Even with the most detailed address, finding an exact location can often be challenging – while GPS coordinates are often difficult and confusing to use. However, a new South African start up offers a solution…

Overhere.co.za, which launched on Monday (January 7) makes use of mapcodes (an open-source international system that has been in the public domain since 2008) to help users generate mapcodes or interpret their location.

As it is fully integrated into Google Maps, visitors to the website can also retrieve driving directions to and between mapcodes (with easy-to-copy direct website links). The service is also free!

What does a mapcode look like? These are two examples of complete addresses with pinpoint accuracy:

4X.7R – the centre of Green Point Lighthouse

J77.NV6 – a parking entrance at Sandton City

Overhere.co.za was developed as a December-holiday project by Pretoria resident Leon Schnell, who saw a pressing problem with a solution that was simply suffering from a lack of awareness.

“I first fell in love with the power of ‘short’ addresses when I visited London in 2009 and was exposed to their postcode system … where short postcodes don’t just lead you to a suburb, but to a doorway,” Schnell explains. “Why couldn’t we have that in South Africa? Ten years later, why is it still not available?

“This is a working showcase of what mapcodes can do, and an open invitation for South African businesses to integrate this free technology into their own companies,” he concludes.