Patent Grant
11686879
The present teachings relate generally to a distributed weather monitoring system, and more particularly to a distributed weather monitoring system having multiple portable weather stations networked together to provide real-time monitoring of the weather.
Accurate, real-time, highly localized weather information is essential for human safety. Whether for transportation, or for recreational activities, people need to be adequately informed of the weather in order to make sound decisions. In addition to safety, accurate weather information helps people avoid uncomfortable situations, e.g. getting caught in the rain. Weather information impacts everyone from sailors at sea to pilots in the air, allowing them to plan accordingly and accomplish their respective tasks and goals.
Environmental sensors and remote sensing technologies have been used in the past to monitor weather. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,920,827, entitled Wireless Weather Station, discloses a stationary system for collecting weather information. However, known systems are incapable of providing real-time, highly localized information in a mobile setting using portable modular weather stations. Without modularity, known systems are less adaptable to a user's specific purpose. In addition, known systems are typically stationary, large, and bulky making them incapable of quick deployment or use in a mobile setting. Further, prior art systems do not have advanced networking capabilities, limiting their applications for providing real-time information.
Aspects of the present invention are directed to these and other problems.
The needs set forth herein as well as further and other needs and advantages are addressed by the present embodiments, which illustrate solutions and advantages described below.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a distributed weather monitoring system includes a storage, a plurality of wireless weather stations, a server, and an interface. Each of the plurality of wireless weather stations is associated with a user and has a battery for providing portability of the wireless weather station, a velocity sensor generating velocity information indicative of both speed and direction of movement of the wireless weather station, an anemometer generating an apparent wind signal indicative of both apparent speed and apparent direction of the wind, and a transmitter transmitting the velocity information and apparent wind signal to a network. The server receives the velocity information and apparent wind signal and stores them in the storage. The interface displays true wind data for each of the plurality of wireless weather stations, which is calculated from the apparent wind signal and velocity information.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a distributed weather monitoring system includes a storage, a plurality of wireless weather stations, a server, and an interface. Each of the plurality of wireless weather stations is associated with a user and has a battery for providing portability of the wireless weather station, a location sensor generating location information as a function of time, an anemometer generating an apparent wind signal indicative of both apparent speed and apparent direction of the wind, a transmitter transmitting the location information and the apparent wind signal to a network. The server receives the location information with the apparent wind signal and stores them in the storage. The interface displays true wind data for each of the plurality of wireless weather stations, the true wind data calculated from the apparent wind signal and using a velocity of the wireless weather station derived from the location information from at least two points in time.
In addition to, or as an alternative to, one or more of the features described above, further aspects of the present invention can include one or more of the following features, individually or in combination:
For a better understanding of the present embodiments, together with other and further aspects thereof, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and detailed description, and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.
The present teachings are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the present embodiments are shown. The following description is presented for illustrative purposes only and the present teachings should not be limited to these embodiments. Any computer configuration and architecture satisfying the speed and interface requirements herein described may be suitable for implementing the system of the present embodiments.
For purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth such as particular architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thorough understanding. In other instances, detailed descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description with unnecessary detail.
Generally, all terms used in the claims are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless explicitly defined otherwise herein. All references to “a/an/the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc.” are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless explicitly stated. The use of “first”, “second” etc. for different features/components of the present disclosure are only intended to distinguish the features/components from other similar features/components and not to impart any order or hierarchy to the features/components.
The present teachings are directed to a network of real-time weather stations. In one embodiment, the system comprises a mobile, location-enabled (e.g., GPS, etc.), cellular-equipped mobile device (referred to as “weather station”) that transmits sensed weather data to a cloud-based network. The network may be accessible in real-time through a smartphone, tablet, laptop or similar device. Users can subscribe to enable access to weather stations on the network. In this way, clusters of local, real-time weather stations may create weather subnetworks to enhance end-user safety, promote end-user communications, and ultimately improve weather forecasts by capturing real-time data.
The weather station may be portable and provide real-time monitoring as it travels. This is facilitated by a built-in locator that allows the device to transmit sensed weather-related data with location. Designed as a small, integrated consumer device, it can be easily mounted (e.g., to a sailboat mast, to a buoy, to a drone, etc.). The weather station may transmit data in real-time to the cloud network, which data may be time-stamped, GPS-tagged, and stored in the database for future use. The weather station may be waterproof and solar powered with battery backup.
Transmission of data may utilize the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, although not limited thereto. GSM is a standard protocol developed for mobile devices. The weather data may be combined with location data (e.g., GPS coordinates, etc.) in a single transmission. In addition to cellular technology, transmission may also include use of satellite networks. This may be preferable when out of range of land. However, use of a short messaging service (SMS) may be less expensive and use less energy. One skilled in the art would appreciate that other communication protocols may be used (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc).
The weather station may be modular and incorporate a number of different sensors. The weather sensors may include an anemometer, thermometer, a barometer, a hygrometer, an anemometer, a pyranometer, a rain gauge, a disdrometer, a transmissometer, a ceilometer, pollen sensor, CO2 sensor, and various numbers and combinations thereof. Sensors may detect temperature, pressure, humidity, wind speed, solar radiation, precipitation, drop size distribution, visibility, cloud ceiling, pollen count, CO2, although not limited thereto. The weather stations may also include local processors and processing of the sensor data, or transmit the data to a server for processing. The modular nature means that sensors can be added/removed as desired. It is also possible to include a camera.
Users may interact with controls on the weather station, such as to change device settings, by using a smartphone or tablet, although not limited thereto. Functions that may be controlled remotely by the user include adjustment of data transmission rates, the ability to turn the device on and off, program notifications and alerts based on various sensors, and control of an integrated camera, although not limited thereto. For example, the user may monitor battery levels and, based on solar charge rates, adjust transmission rates to ensure battery longevity.
The device may be powered by a battery that is recharged by a solar panel, although not limited thereto. Although the user may program “downtime” for the unit, including shutting off transmission to save battery life, the unit may be “self-preserving”, and automatically shut down and recharge when it reaches a predetermined battery level, and then turn back on when battery level returns to normal.
The weather station may also have a processor and storage. This may be used to calculate weather data, although not limited thereto. For example, the device may store direction and speed of movement and compare it with the apparent wind speed and direction in order to resolve true wind speed. The device may then transmit the true wind speed with apparent wind speed to the network. In another embodiment, this resolution may be performed by a server and not by the weather station. The storage may also store wind speed in order to measure gusts (e.g. highest wind speed for past hour, etc.). It is to be appreciated that weather data may be stored on the weather station as desired or otherwise permitted by available storage, and the present teachings are not limited to any particular embodiment disclosed herein.
The weather station may integrate with existing sensor networks. For example, the Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a tracking system used on ships and by vessel traffic services (VTS) for identifying and locating vessels by electronically exchanging data with other nearby ships, AIS base stations, and satellites. In addition, many vessels already have existing anemometer and display systems. Many boats use the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) electrical and data specification for communication between marine electronics such as echo sounder, sonars, anemometer, gyrocompass, autopilot, GPS receivers and many other types of instruments. The weather station may communicate with any of these systems using the appropriate communication protocols. Specifically, the weather station may use VHF radio or AIS to establish ad-hoc networks between stations, or use satellite communication when outside of cellular or VHF range.
A system according to the present teachings introduces a number of benefits. For example, the system integrates components in a way that has not been achieved before. The system may develop an adaptable weather “scene” that may be constantly updated due to the non-fixed (e.g., mobile, etc.) real-time nature of the platform as well as meteorological prediction methods based on the dynamic data. As weather stations move through a weather system it may be possible to determine additional characteristics of the weather. Further, the system may use one or more novel sensing technologies to provide more accurate sensing of environmental conditions, wind speed and direction in particular, at a reduced cost when compared to existing sensor technologies.
One goal is to increase safety in the aviation and maritime fields by giving pilots and captains access to up-to-the-minute weather data in their flight/travel path, as well as at their destinations. For example, first responders may have units that transmit real-time weather conditions to medevac helicopters landing in the area. Helicopter pilots flying to offshore oil rigs may have access to data points along their route from boats, buoys, and other vehicles that would allow them to make better, more-informed decisions using real-time, GPS-specific data. Mariners may know about severe weather in real-time by accessing previously non-existent data points that supplement the NOAA buoy system. Users at a golf course can benefit from weather data provided at carts and pins. One skilled in the art would appreciate that weather stations could be positioned anywhere (whether stationary or mounted to a moving vehicle) and report real-time weather data to the network for improved comprehension of weather.
Referring now to
One or more batteries 102 may power the weather station 100. The battery or batteries 102 may be charged by a solar panel 104 that may be incorporated into the device. The weather station may be “self-preserving” and automatically shut down and recharge when it reaches a predetermined threshold, turning back on when battery levels return to normal. This may be a setting that can be controlled by a user.
One or more weather sensors 108 may detect weather conditions. For example, in one embodiment the weather station 100 includes an anemometer. The weather station may transmit the location information (e.g., using location sensor 106) along with weather data to the server 120 using a transmitter 112. Transmitting weather and location data simultaneously may not only reduce bandwidth, but allow easy indexing of the data. In another embodiment, the weather station 100 includes a velocity sensor 113. The velocity sensor 113 may be, for example, an inertial measurements unit, which provides data including specific force, angular rate, and magnetic fields. The data produced by the velocity sensor 113 may be part of an inertial navigation system, which analyzes the data from the velocity sensor 113 to determine the velocity, acceleration, and change in position of the device. This can supplement or replace location information from a GPS system in the device, or be used to estimate weather information, e.g. wave height and frequency. In other embodiments, location of the weather station is determined via external components via, e.g. using triangulation.
An analyzer 122 may analyze the weather data. For example, in one embodiment, using wind speed and location information the analyzer 122 may calculate true wind speed. Knowing the speed of travel of the weather station 100 and the measured apparent wind speed allows calculation of true wind speed. This may include use of historical location information of the weather station 100 that may be stored in storage 130. In one embodiment, this calculation may be performed on the weather station 100 and then transmitted to the server 120. For example, the location information can be used to calculate a distance (i.e. displacement) between two points, and this distance divided by the time it took for the weather station 100 to move from the first point to the second point gives an average velocity (Δx/Δt). In another embodiment, the analyzer 122 uses data from the inertial measurement unit 113 such as acceleration and angular velocity data to calculate sea state, wave height, and wave frequency.
Users may access the data, receive alerts, and control one or more weather stations 100 over the Internet 118 using computers 114 (e.g., mobile devices, smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktop computers, etc.). An interface 116 (e.g., app, webpage, etc.) may provide a convenient and customizable dashboard of weather data received from the server(s) 120. Data may be provided by a reporter 126. The weather station 100 may send sensor information 117 (e.g. weather/location information) to the computer 114 via the internet 118 and through the server 120. Users may send control commands 115 to the weather station 100 via the server 120 and the internet 118. Control commands can be used to, e.g. set the length of the periodic intervals of data transmission by the weather station 100.
The storage 130 may include user profiles. A user may create an account on the system and register one or more weather stations 100 using a unique identifier that identifies the weather station. In this way, the weather station may provide out-of-the-box functionality and connect to a cellular network and send weather and location data to the server 120 to be provided over the Internet.
A user may also issue commands to the weather station 100 and/or server 120. An interface 116 including an app and/or a website may be used to control a user's settings and mobile device. The user may control any number of aspects of the weather station 100 using a smartphone or other computer 114. Control commands may be received by the server 120 and/or the receiver 110 on the weather station 100, although not limited thereto.
An alerter 124 may allow a user to set and receive alerts. For example, the user may predefine weather parameters (e.g. weather-related occurrences in particular areas of interest), although not limited thereto. If the weather parameter is reached or detected at the one or more areas of interest (e.g., wind over 30 MPH, lighting detected, etc.), the user may receive an alert or notification. The user may also create combined alerts (e.g., dropping barometer pressure and temperature below 65° F., wind over 10 MPH and temperature over 65° F., etc.). Alerts may also be generated based on battery level and/or shutdown of the mobile device, although not limited thereto. As would be appreciated by one skilled in the art, alerts can be created to monitor any number of situations and can be set and received via interface 116 on a mobile device 114, by text, by email, or by similar methods. The alerter may be software executing on the server 120, although not limited thereto.
The user may also define a specific geographical area and receive alerts from any of weather stations in that area. A user may geofence an area of interest and receive alerts from that area. For example, if a user intends to travel along a predetermined route, the user may select the route (e.g., draw a circle using interface 116, etc.) and set up alerts for that area. The user also may be able to select specific weather stations and receive alerts from any of those. All alerts may be controlled through the user interface 116, as well as the control (e.g., hours of operation, battery shutoff, etc.) of the user's own weather station. A smartphone app provides the user with a powerful user interface to control all aspects of the user's weather station and use of the network.
Social networks (e.g., private subnetworks, social circles, etc.) may be created. A social media component 128 may organize social networks and/or interact with other social network systems (e.g. FACEBOOK®, etc.). For example, owners of weather stations 100 may join social networks concerning a geographic region or recreational facility (e.g., yacht club). Joining the network (e.g., subscribing) may not only give a user access to other weather stations on that network, but also make that user's weather station 100 available to that network. For example, all members of a certain organization (e.g., yacht club, airport, marina, golf club, ski resort, etc.) may join a certain social network in order to share their weather information with each other. Such subnetworks can also be based on weather and position, although not limited thereto.
An overlay of third-party weather information 132 may supplement data sensed by the weather stations and give users unprecedented real-time weather coverage. The system may communicate with publicly-available (or subscription-based, etc.) weather and map providers, although not limited thereto. Better data may lead to better decision-making for recreational and commercial users, which in turn may lead to higher safety levels and better overall understanding of local weather systems.
Referring now to
While the present teachings have been described above in terms of specific embodiments, it is to be understood that they are not limited to these disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and other embodiments will come to mind to those skilled in the art to which this pertains, and which are intended to be and are covered by both this disclosure and the appended claims. It is intended that the scope of the present teachings should be determined by proper interpretation and construction of the appended claims and their legal equivalents, as understood by those of skill in the art relying upon the disclosure in this specification and the attached drawings.
The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/004,791, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,067,719, and U.S. application Ser. No. 15/870,353, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,795,055. The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 201762448214P. All prior applications are herein incorporated by reference.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20210341644 A1 | Nov 2021 | US |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Parent | 17004791 | Aug 2020 | US |
| Child | 17378919 | US | |
| Parent | 15870353 | Jan 2018 | US |
| Child | 17004791 | US |
