Automated weather sensing system and method using cameras

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9979934-B1
Application number	US-201514590734-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Jan 6, 2015
Priority date	Jan 6, 2015
Publication date	May 22, 2018
Grant date	May 22, 2018

Abstract

Systems and methods can provide an indication of a weather condition. The system can utilize a processor that determines the weather condition from data associated with at least one camera at a remote location. The data can be compared to calibration data for the remote location to determine the weather condition. The indication can be provided to an aircraft. The camera can be a web camera, a traffic camera, infrared camera or other observation device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of providing a report of a weather condition at a location remote from an aircraft, the method comprising:
selecting, on a display screen, an area associated with the report;
selecting a camera source associated with the area, wherein the camera source is a passive infra-red or visible light camera;
determining the weather condition at the area using data from the camera source, the data from the camera source representing an image at the area passively sensed by the camera source, wherein the weather condition is determined by processing the data from the camera source to determine edges in the image,
wherein the data is compared to calibration data for the area to determine the weather condition, wherein the calibration data is compared to the data from the camera source to determine if a geographic feature in the calibration data is present and wherein the calibration data is associated with a clear view,
wherein the edges are used to determine the weather condition,
wherein presence of the edges is an indication of whether structures or landmarks associated with the area are hidden or partially hidden by the weather condition; and
displaying the weather condition on the display screen.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the camera source is a first camera source and further comprising:
selecting a second camera source associated with the area and using the data from the first camera source and the second camera source to determine movement of the weather condition.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data from the camera source is provided over time and movement of the weather condition is determined using the data provided over time.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the weather condition is fog, or visibility.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting the indication of the weather condition to the aircraft or to ground personnel.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising processing the data from the camera source using at least one of image color management, alignment, segmentation, histogram analysis, and cross correlation.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the camera source is a web camera.

8. A weather observation system for an aircraft comprising:
at least one processor; and
a memory coupled to the at least one processor and containing program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to;
receive image data associated with a location remote from the aircraft, the image data being provided by a camera remote from the aircraft, wherein the image data represents passively sensed infrared or visible light;
determine if any weather conditions are present using the image data and calibration data for the location, wherein the calibration data is compared to the image data from the camera to determine if a geographic feature in the calibration data is present and wherein the calibration data is associated with a clear view,
wherein the image data is processed by using edge detection to determine if a structure or landmark is hidden or partially hidden; and
provide an indication of at least one of the weather conditions to the aircraft.

9. The weather observation system of claim 8 , wherein the calibration data is referenced to a time of day.

10. The weather observation system of claim 8 , wherein the calibration data is referenced to a time of year.

11. The weather observation system of claim 8 , wherein the edge detection is used to determine if the landmark or structure has a reduced contrast to determine the at least one of the weather conditions.

12. The weather observation system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive multiple images over time to determine weather growth or movement of the at least one of the weather conditions.

13. The weather observation system of claim 8 , wherein the indication of the at least one of the weather conditions is displayed on a display of the aircraft.

14. The weather observation system of claim 8 , wherein the camera is a web camera or an infrared camera.

15. The weather observation system of claim 8 , wherein the camera is a traffic camera.

16. A weather observation system, comprising:
at least one processor;
a transceiver coupled with the at least one processor; and
a memory coupled to the at least one processor and storing image data from at least one camera from a remote location, wherein the image data represents passively sensed infrared or visible light, wherein the at least one processor determines a weather condition from the image data using calibration data for the remote location, wherein the calibration data is compared to the image data from the camera to determine if a geographic feature in the calibration data is present and wherein the calibration data is associated with a clear view,
wherein the image data is processed by using edge detection to determine if a structure or landmark is hidden or partially hidden, wherein the transceiver transmits an indication of the weather condition to an aircraft.

17. The weather observation system of claim 16 , wherein the image data is a live video format and the calibration data is stored in the memory of the weather observation system.

18. The weather observation system of claim 16 , wherein the at least one processor provides a map of weather condition symbols determined from multiple locations associated with camera locations.

Assignees

• Breiholz Arlen E
• Kronfeld Kevin M
• Murray Gregory D
• Rockwell Collins Inc

Inventors

• Breiholz Arlen E
• Kronfeld Kevin M
• Murray Gregory D

Classifications

• H04N7/183 Primary

  for receiving images from a single remote source · CPC title

• G01W1/18

  Testing or calibrating meteorological apparatus · CPC title