Crowdsourced Weather Data Collection and Provision

• US 20120215446A1
• Filed: 02/18/2011
• Published: 08/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Schunder, Mark, Szwabowski, Steven Joseph, Filev, Dimitar Petrov, MacNeille, Perry Robinson
• Granted Patent: US 9,451,030 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/3
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

A computer-implemented method of gathering data includes querying, via a vehicle computing system, a plurality of weather sensors included with a vehicle and in communication with a vehicle network. The method also includes determining whether or not appropriate conditions exist for storage of data from the sensor, for each of the sensors. Additionally, the method includes storing the data from the sensor if appropriate conditions exist. Finally, the method includes sending, from the vehicle computing system to a remote network, data from one or more queried sensors and current GPS coordinates of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of gathering data comprising:

querying, via a vehicle computing system, a plurality of weather sensors included with a vehicle and in communication with a vehicle network;

for each sensor, determining whether or not appropriate conditions exist for storage of data from the sensor;

if appropriate conditions exist, storing the data from the sensor; and

sending, from the vehicle computing system to a remote network, data from one or more queried sensors and current GPS coordinates of the vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the querying is performed on a periodic basis.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the querying is performed on an on-demand basis in response to a request for data.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the request for data is provided by a remote server in communication with the vehicle computing system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending further includes sending the data once all sensors have been queried.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing includes storing the data in a local temporary memory.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing includes storing the data in a local permanent memory.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the appropriate conditions include the vehicle being in a non-moving state.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the appropriate conditions include an ambient temperature detected at the vehicle corresponding to a previously determined ambient temperature range for a region in which the vehicle is currently present.

10. A computer-implemented method of providing a real-time weather report for a vehicle comprising:

receiving, at a server, a request for a weather report from a vehicle computing system, the request including GPS coordinates of a requesting vehicle;

gathering, via one or more server-implemented gathering processes, a plurality of points of data, from a database, the points of data corresponding to weather data reported from other vehicles at a time in close proximity to a present time, and wherein the other vehicles reported the data from coordinates within a close proximity to the included GPS coordinates;

aggregating, via one or more server-implemented aggregation processes, the data to form a weather prediction for the included GPS coordinates; and

reporting the weather prediction to the vehicle computing system from the server.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the request also includes a level of service.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the gathering varies based on a level of service, such that a higher level of service corresponds to a more comprehensive gathering of data than does a lower level of service.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the aggregating further includes weighting the data based on the proximity of GPS coordinates that correspond to a point of data to the included GPS coordinates.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the points of data correspond to data reported from single vehicles.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the points of data correspond to an aggregation of data over a predefined region, the region having at least one set of GPS coordinates associated therewith.

16. A computer-implemented method of providing predictive weather data comprising:

receiving, at a server, a request for a weather report from a vehicle computing system, the request including GPS coordinates of a requesting vehicle, a current heading of the requesting vehicle, a current speed of the requesting vehicle, and a future time or location or both for which a weather report is requested;

estimating a location of the vehicle at the future time, if the location for which the weather report was requested was not provided, and/or estimating a time at which the vehicle will reach the future location, if the future time for which the weather report was requested is not included;

gathering, via one or more server-implemented gathering processes, a plurality of points of data, from a database, the points of data corresponding to weather data reported from other vehicles at a time in close proximity to a present time, and wherein the other vehicles reported the data from coordinates within a close proximity to the estimated location of the vehicle at the future time or the included location for which a weather report is requested;

aggregating, via one or more server-implemented aggregation processes, the data to form a weather prediction for the included GPS coordinates; and

reporting the weather prediction to the vehicle computing system from the server.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the estimating is based at least in part on the current speed of the vehicle and the current heading of the vehicle.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the estimating is based at least in part on current routing information included with the request.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the inclusion of routing information comprises including a reference to a remote server containing routing information for the vehicle, the reference also including access parameters, if necessary, for accessing the routing information.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein, if an included or estimated future time is greater than a predefined threshold from a present time, the aggregating includes utilizing one or more predictive algorithms to predict likely changes in present weather conditions at the included or estimated location.