Collection vessel for collecting, measuring, and aggregrating precipitation accumulation data

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11150382-B2
Application number	US-201916674258-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 5, 2019
Priority date	Mar 20, 2017
Publication date	Oct 19, 2021
Grant date	Oct 19, 2021

Abstract

Embodiments for controlling precipitation collection vessels to accurately and efficiently collect, measure, and aggregate precipitation accumulation data are disclosed. In one embodiment according to aspects of the present invention, a computer-implemented method includes collecting snow in a plurality of collection vessels by orienting an open end of each of the plurality of collection vessels perpendicularly to a direction of the wind based at least in part on a wind model. The computer-implemented method further includes measuring a snow level of the snow in each of the plurality of collection vessels to generate snow level data for each of the plurality of collection vessels. The computer-implemented method further includes aggregating the snow level data for each of the plurality of snow collection by assembling the snow accumulation data from each of the plurality of collection vessels.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method for aggregating snow accumulation data, the method comprising:
receiving, by a processing device, the snow accumulation data from each of a plurality of collection vessels; and
aggregating, by the processing device, the snow accumulation data by assembling the snow accumulation data from each of the plurality of collection vessels to interpolate the snow accumulation data for a geographic area in proximity to the plurality of collection vessels.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein aggregating the snow accumulation data comprises accounting for topography, vegetation, buildings, and infrastructure in proximity to the plurality of collection vessels.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising integrating a three-dimensional terrain model of an area in proximity to the plurality of collection vessels to assess how building height and wind direction affect snow accumulation.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising updating a forecast based at least in part on the assembled snow accumulation data from each of the plurality of collection vessels.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of collection vessels are configured to collect and measure snow and to generate the snow accumulation data.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of collection vessels are communicatively coupled to the processing device via a network.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6 , wherein each of the plurality of collection vessels are configured to transmit the snow accumulation data to the processing device via the network.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising validating the snow accumulation data using social media data received from at least one social network.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising accounting for a building height and a wind orientation model for wind to determine on which side of a road having two sides that the wind caused a larger amount of snow accumulation between the two sides.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising generating an optimized route for snow removal equipment to remove snow.

11. A system comprising:
a memory comprising computer readable instructions; and
a processing device for executing the computer readable instructions, the computer readable instructions controlling the processing device to perform operations for aggregating snow accumulation data, the operations comprising:
receiving, by a processing device, the snow accumulation data from each of a plurality of collection vessels; and
aggregating, by the processing device, the snow accumulation data by assembling the snow accumulation data from each of the plurality of collection vessels to interpolate the snow accumulation data for a geographic area in proximity to the plurality of collection vessels.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein aggregating the snow accumulation data comprises accounting for topography, vegetation, buildings, and infrastructure in proximity to the plurality of collection vessels.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise integrating a three-dimensional terrain model of an area in proximity to the plurality of collection vessels to assess how building height and wind direction affect snow accumulation.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise updating a forecast based at least in part on the assembled snow accumulation data from each of the plurality of collection vessels.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein each of the plurality of collection vessels are configured to collect and measure snow and to generate the snow accumulation data.

16. The system of claim 11 , wherein each of the plurality of collection vessels are communicatively coupled to the processing device via a network.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein each of the plurality of collection vessels are configured to transmit the snow accumulation data to the processing device via the network.

18. The system of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise validating the snow accumulation data using social media data received from at least one social network.

19. The system of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise accounting for a building height and a wind orientation model for wind to determine on which side of a road having two sides that the wind caused a larger amount of snow accumulation between the two sides.

20. A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform operations for aggregating snow accumulation data, the operations comprising:
receiving, by a processing device, the snow accumulation data from each of a plurality of collection vessels; and
aggregating, by the processing device, the snow accumulation data by assembling the snow accumulation data from each of the plurality of collection vessels to interpolate the snow accumulation data for a geographic area in proximity to the plurality of collection vessels.

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Klein Levente
• Lu Siyuan
• Marianno Fernando J
• Van Kessel Theodore G

Classifications

• G01W1/14 Primary

  Rainfall or precipitation gauges (measuring volume in general G01F) · CPC title

• G01W1/10

  Devices for predicting weather conditions (computers per se G06; display devices G09) · CPC title