Universal
One syntax for homes, roads, forests, deserts, oceans, ice and the poles.
GLOBAL LOCATION SYSTEMProject Meridian
Open source · Offline-first · Whole-Earth
One format.
Everywhere.
Meridian turns a geographic coordinate into a compact key that can be generated and decoded without a server.
EXAMPLEOne place, three useful scales
OFFLINEWOLACET-VMWKBA
WOLACET-VMWK10 mStandardWOLACET-VMWKB3 mFineWOLACET-VMWKBA1 mPrecise
“What’s your Meridian?”
“My Meridian is WOLACET-VMWKBA.”
“Send me your Meridian.”
THE IDEA
Coordinates for humans.
Keep the mathematics. Lose the awkwardness.Offline
No account, API key, geocoder or central lookup service is required for the core key.
Progressive
Four locator characters give 10 m. Add one for 3 m. Add one more for 1 m.
Open
The goal is an independently implementable format, not a proprietary location toll gate.
HOW IT WORKS
Four steps. No political geography.
1WGS84Latitude + longitude
→
2Cube faceGlobal quadratic geometry
→
3Meridian NamePronounceable global zone
→
4Locator10 m · 3 m · 1 m
WHY IT MATTERS
Built for places addresses struggle with.
Response & field work
Share a precise point where there may be no useful street address.
Offline operation
Core encode/decode continues when mobile data or mapping services disappear.
App integration
SDKs can resolve Meridian Keys locally instead of routing every lookup through us.
Open ecosystem
Mapping, routing, addresses and elevation stay replaceable context layers.
CURRENT POSITION
Candidate E is working.
The architecture exists; the remaining job is to harden it.✓Global coreEncode/decode + 10/3/1 m classes
✓Public demoLive Candidate E validator
✓Context engineBusiness, property, UPRN, named areas
✓Offline designRegional PMTiles + local indexes
→ConformanceNormative vectors + boundary freeze
→Human factorsRadio, phonetics, accessibility
PROS & TRADE-OFFS
Strong idea. Still honest about the gaps.
+
What Candidate E gets right
- Same format everywhere on Earth.
- Fully offline horizontal encode/decode.
- Pronounceable zone component.
- Progressive precision.
- No mandatory central service.
- Context data can improve without changing the key.
!
What still needs work
- Pre-1.0 mapping is not yet permanent.
- Error detection/checksum remains open.
- Name safety and phonetic testing need completion.
- 1 m cell size is not 1 m GPS accuracy.
- Rich context depends on regional datasets.
- Offline map packs need production tooling.
CANDIDATE F
Harden. Simplify. Prove.
F is the next refinement target, not a rewrite for the sake of it.F1Freeze geometryEdges, poles, antimeridian, canonical rules
F2Test humansRadio, speech, transcription, accessibility
F3Error detectionCatch common mistakes without bloating keys
F4Portable SDKsJavaScript, Swift and Kotlin against shared vectors
F5Offline packsMaps, UPRN/property indexes, integrity + updates
F61.0 decision gateOnly keep changes that measurably improve E