Natural Area Code
Encyclopedia
The Natural Area Code is a proprietary geocode
system for identifying an area anywhere on the Earth
, or a volume of space anywhere around the Earth. The use of thirty alphanumeric characters instead of only ten digits makes a NAC shorter than its numerical latitude
/longitude
equivalent.
- is laid over the flattened globe. A NAC cell (or block) can be subdivided repeatedly into smaller NAC grids to yield an arbitrarily small area, subject to the ±1 m limitations of the World Geodetic System
(WGS) data of 1984.
A NAC represents an area on the earth -- the longer the NAC, the smaller the area (and thereby, location) represented. An eight or ten character NAC can uniquely specify every building
, house
, or fixed object in the world. An eight-character NAC specifies an area no larger than 25 metres by 50 metres, while a ten-character NAC cell is no larger than 0.8 metres by 1.6 metres.
Using a base 30
positional numeral system, NAC uses an alternate method which excludes vowels and avoids potential confusion between "0" (zero) and "O" (capital "o"), and "1" (one) and "I" (capital "i"):
For example, the ten-character NAC for the centre of the city of Brussels
is HBV6R RG77T.
For example, the three-dimensional NAC for the centre of Brussels, at ground level, is HBV6R RG77T H0000.
Geocode
GEOCODE is a standardized all-natural number representation format specification for geospatial coordinate measurements that provide details of the exact location of geospatial point at, below, or above the surface of the earth at a specified moment of time.Geocode is patented under US Patents...
system for identifying an area anywhere on the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, or a volume of space anywhere around the Earth. The use of thirty alphanumeric characters instead of only ten digits makes a NAC shorter than its numerical latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
/longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
equivalent.
Two-dimensional system
Instead of numerical longitudes and latitudes, a grid with 30 rows and 30 columns - each cell denoted by the numbers 0-9 and the twenty consonants of the Latin alphabetLatin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
- is laid over the flattened globe. A NAC cell (or block) can be subdivided repeatedly into smaller NAC grids to yield an arbitrarily small area, subject to the ±1 m limitations of the World Geodetic System
World Geodetic System
The World Geodetic System is a standard for use in cartography, geodesy, and navigation. It comprises a standard coordinate frame for the Earth, a standard spheroidal reference surface for raw altitude data, and a gravitational equipotential surface that defines the nominal sea level.The latest...
(WGS) data of 1984.
A NAC represents an area on the earth -- the longer the NAC, the smaller the area (and thereby, location) represented. An eight or ten character NAC can uniquely specify every building
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
, house
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
, or fixed object in the world. An eight-character NAC specifies an area no larger than 25 metres by 50 metres, while a ten-character NAC cell is no larger than 0.8 metres by 1.6 metres.
Using a base 30
Base 30
Base 30 or trigesimal is a positional numeral system using 30 as the radix. Digits in this base can be represented using the Arabic numerals 0-9 and the Latin letters A-T....
positional numeral system, NAC uses an alternate method which excludes vowels and avoids potential confusion between "0" (zero) and "O" (capital "o"), and "1" (one) and "I" (capital "i"):
| Decimal | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base 30 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | B | C | D | F | G | |||
| Decimal | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | |||
| Base 30 | H | J | K | L | M | N | P | Q | R | S | T | V | W | X | Z | |||
For example, the ten-character NAC for the centre of the city of Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
is HBV6R RG77T.
Extension to three dimensions
The full NAC system provides a third coordinate: altitude. This coordinate is the arctangent of the altitude, relative to the Earth's radius, and scaled so that the zero point (000...) is at the centre of the Earth, the midpoint (H00...) is the local radius of the geoid, i.e. the Earth's surface, and the endpoint (ZZZ...) is at infinity.For example, the three-dimensional NAC for the centre of Brussels, at ground level, is HBV6R RG77T H0000.
See also
- Military grid reference systemMilitary grid reference systemThe Military Grid Reference System is the geocoordinate standard used by NATO militaries for locating points on the earth. The MGRS is derived from the UTM grid system and the UPS grid system, but uses a different labeling convention...
- Universal code (cartography)Universal Code (Cartography)In cartography, a universal code is a code that can indicate any location on Earth, such as "latitude and longitude", or the Natural Area Code....
- Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate systemUniversal Transverse Mercator coordinate systemThe Universal Transverse Mercator geographic coordinate system uses a 2-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system to give locations on the surface of the Earth. It is a horizontal position representation, i.e...