METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR REFINING WEATHER FORECASTS USING POINT OBSERVATIONS

• US 20140372039A1
• Filed: 04/03/2014
• Published: 12/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sky Motion Research, ULC
• Original Assignee: Sky Motion Research, ULC
• Inventors: LEBLANC, Andr
• Granted Patent: US 10,495,785 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/3
• CPC Class Codes: G01W 1/10 Devices for predicting weather conditions computers per se G06; display devices G09

Abstract

Provided are methods, devices and non-transitory computer readable storage mediums to generate a more accurate weather forecast by utilizing actual observation of a weather event in a particular location and time. For example, the observation data may be received from a user device and contain information indicative of a weather event that the user observed. Alternatively, or additionally, the observation data may be automatically generated by one or more sensors placed in certain locations and transmitted to a central server automatically upon detecting an observation. The observation data may be used to predict a weather forecast of a location that corresponds to, or is otherwise related to the particular location in which the observed event occurred.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, from a remote device, weather-related observation data associated with a first location and a first time, the weather-related observation data comprising data obtained from observing a weather-related event associated with the first location and the first time,

generating a weather forecast associated with a second location and a second time based on the weather-related observation data, and

outputting the weather forecast to the remote device.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising forming an image of the second location, the image comprising pixels associated with weather forecast values.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising forming at least two images of the second location, each of the at least two images being associated with a different time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the weather-related event comprises at least one of hail, wind, lightening, temperature, precipitation and intensity of sunlight.

5. The method of claim 2, comprising modifying a weather forecast value associated with a pixel based on the weather-related observation data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the weather-related event is observed by a user operating the remote device, and the user causes the remote device to transmit the weather-related observation data.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote device automatically transmits weather-related observation data upon detecting an observation of a weather-related event.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising:

receiving, from a second remote device, second weather-related observation data associated with a third location and a third time, the second weather-related observation data comprising data obtained from observing a weather-related event associated with the third location and the third time,

wherein the weather forecast associated with the second location and the second time is generated based on both the weather-related observation data associated with the first location and the first time and the second weather-related observation data associated with the third location and the third time.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising:

storing the received weather-related observation data,

producing a statistic associated with the stored weather-related observation data, the statistic comprising information indicative of a number of remote devices that have received the weather forecast, and

outputting at least part of the statistic to the remote device.

10. The method of claim 1, comprising:

comparing the weather-related observation data with pre-stored weather data, and

determining, based on the comparison, a weight associated with the weather-related observation data.

11. The method of claim 1, comprising:

producing a trust rating associated with the remote device, and

determining, based on the trust rating, a weight associated with the weather-related observation data received from the remote device.

12. A device for refining a weather forecast using a point observation, comprising:

one or more processors,

a memory that stores instructions for the one or more processors, and

a communication module to connect to a remote device via a communication network,

wherein when the one or more processors execute the instructions stored in the memory, the device is caused to;

receive, from the remote device, weather-related observation data associated with a first location and a first time, the weather-related observation data comprising data obtained from observing a weather-related event in the first location at the first time,

generate a weather forecast in a second location at a second time based on the weather-related observation data, and

output the weather forecast to the remote device.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the device is caused to form an image of a second location, the image comprising pixels associated with weather forecast values.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the device is caused to form at least two images of the second location, and each of the at least two image is associated with a different time.

15. The device of claim 12, wherein the weather-related event is observed by a user operating the remote device, and the user causes the remote device to transmit the weather-related observation data.

16. The device of claim 12, wherein the remote device automatically transmits, to the device, weather-related observation data upon detecting an observation of a weather-related event.

17. The device of claim 12, wherein the device is caused to:

receive, from a second remote device, second weather-related observation data associated with a third location and a third time, the weather-related observation data comprising data obtained from observing a weather-related event in the third location at the third time,

wherein the weather forecast in the second location at the second time is generated based on both the weather-related observation data associated with the first location and the first time and the second weather-related observation data associated with the third location and the third time.

18. The device of claim 12, wherein the device is caused to:

store the received weather-related observation data,

produce a statistic about the stored weather-related observation data, the statistic comprising information indicative of a number of remote devices that have received the weather forecast, and

output at least part of the statistic to the remote device.

19. The device of claim 12, wherein the device is caused to:

compare the weather-related observation data with pre-stored weather data, assign a trust rating associated with the remote device, and

determine, based on the comparison and the trust rating, a weight associated with the weather-related observation data, received from the remote device.

20. A system comprising a server and a remote device that is connected to the server over a communication network, wherein:

the server comprises one or more processors and a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing the one or more processors to execute a weather forecast refining process, the weather forecast refining process comprising;

receiving, from a remote device, weather-related observation data associated with a first location and a first time, the weather-related observation data comprising data obtained from observing a weather-related event in the first location at the first time,

generating a weather forecast in a second location at a second time based on the weather-related observation data, and

outputting the weather forecast to the remote device, and

the remote device comprises a computer, a display and a non-transitory computer memory storing a program causing the computer to execute a process comprising;

obtaining the weather forecast outputted from the server over the communication network, and

causing, on the display, a display of at least part of the weather forecast.

21. A method for refining a weather forecast, the method comprising:

obtaining weather-related observations at a particular position and at a given time, and

using the weather-related observations in forming a gridded image of a particular area on Earth, the gridded image comprising pixels wherein each pixel has a value which corresponds to a weather value which in turn corresponds to a weather forecast,

wherein forming a gridded image comprises forming multiple gridded images, each gridded image corresponds to a moment in time.

22. A method for forecasting a presence of weather-related events at a particular position at a given time, the method comprising:

obtaining a weather-related observation of a weather-related event at the particular position and at the given time,

changing or confirming a weather value in a gridded image based on the weather-related observation, and

producing a weather forecast using the changed or confirmed weather value.

23. A method for using contributions from observers in a weather forecast, the method comprising:

obtaining weather-related observations from the observers, each observation being made at a particular position and at a given time,

using the weather-related observations from the observers in the production a future weather forecast for a user,

calculating statistics about the weather-related observations from the observers, weather forecasts and users that have benefited from the observations, and

sending to at least one of the observers a message comprising at least part of the statistics about the weather-related observations from at least one of the observers.

24. A device for displaying a weather forecast refined using a point observation, comprising:

one or more processors,

a memory storing instructions for the one or more processors,

a communication module to connect to a remote server over a communication network, and

a display,

wherein when the one or more processors execute the instructions stored in the memory, the device is caused to;

receive, from the remote server, a weather forecast, the weather forecast being associated with a first location and a first time and generated by the remote server based at least on weather-related observation data, wherein the weather-related observation data comprises data obtained from observing a weather-related event in a second location at a second time, and

cause, on the display, a display of at least a part of the weather forecast received from the remote server.