Weather detection for vehicle environment

Abstract

The present disclosure provides weather detection for a vehicle environment. A weather detection system for a vehicle includes a weather sensor configured to sense an environmental condition of an area external to the vehicle in an operable state; an actuator to control a response to the environmental condition; a network interface configured to access weather data from a fleet of vehicles; and a control circuit in communication with the weather sensor and the actuator. The control circuit is configured to: access the weather data via the network interface; comparing the weather data with the environmental condition; detecting an inoperable state of the weather sensor based on the comparison; and control the actuator based on the detection of the inoperable state.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to weather detection for vehicle environments, and more particularly to a crowdsourced weather detection system that monitors sensor operability and rewards users for sharing weather information. Background Art

[0002] Vehicle sensors typically monitor temperature and rain conditions outside the vehicle. Summary of the invention

[0003] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a weather detection system for a vehicle includes: a weather sensor configured to sense an environmental condition of an area outside the vehicle in an operable state; an actuator for controlling a response to the environmental condition; a network interface configured to access weather data from a fleet of vehicles; and a control circuit in communication with the weather sensor and the actuator. The control circuit is configured to: access the weather data via the network interface; compare the weather data with the environmental condition; detect an inoperable state of the weather sensor based on the comparison; and control the actuator based on the detection of the inoperable state.

[0004] Embodiments of the first aspect of the present disclosure may include any one or a combination of the following features:

[0005] - the control circuit is configured to report the environmental condition for transmission to the fleet of vehicles;

[0006] - a GPS that tracks the location of the vehicle; and a server that processes the location of the vehicle and the environmental conditions to anonymize information provided to the fleet of vehicles;

[0007] - the control circuit is configured to combine data from various nodes on the fleet of vehicles and determine an estimate of the environmental condition based on the combination;

[0008] - said comparison comprises detecting a difference between said estimate and said environmental condition;

[0009] - the weather sensor comprises a camera that captures images of the external environment and an image processor that processes the images to detect the environmental conditions;

[0010] - the weather sensor comprises a camera that captures images of the external environment and an image processor that processes the images to detect the environmental conditions;

[0011] - the control circuitry comprises a controller local to the vehicle, the controller being configured to transmit to the server an indication of the inoperable condition and a software version of the image processor in response to detection of the inoperable condition;

[0012] - the server is configured to transmit an update of the image processor based on the software version;

[0013] - the control circuit comprises a controller local to the vehicle, wherein the controller is configured to perform operations to selectively report the environmental condition to the fleet of vehicles;

[0014] - the controller is selectively operable between an event driven mode in which the controller communicates the environmental condition based on the nature of the environmental condition and an operational driven mode in which the controller communicates the environmental condition during driving of the vehicle;

[0015] - a user interface in the vehicle, wherein the control circuit is configured to transmit a signal to present an option at the user interface for selecting the event-driven mode or the operation-driven mode;

[0016] - said reporting of said environmental conditions is controlled by said user via said user interface; and

[0017] - the control circuit is configured to transmit a message when reporting of the environmental condition is deactivated to indicate a stimulus for activating the reporting.

[0018] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a weather detection system for a vehicle includes: a weather sensor configured to sense environmental conditions of an area outside the vehicle in an operable state; an actuator for controlling a response to the environmental conditions; a network interface configured to access weather data from a fleet of vehicles; and a controller local to the vehicle, the controller communicating with the weather sensor and the actuator. The controller is configured to control the actuator based on detection of an inoperable state of the weather sensor. The weather detection system also includes a server in communication with the controller, the controller being configured to compare the weather data with the environmental conditions and detect the inoperable state of the weather sensor based on the comparison.

[0019] Embodiments of the second aspect of the present disclosure may include any one or a combination of the following features:

[0020] - the controller is configured to selectively report the environmental condition to the server;

[0021] - the controller is selectively operable between an event driven mode in which the controller communicates the environmental condition based on the nature of the environmental condition and an operational driven mode in which the controller communicates the environmental condition during driving of the vehicle;

[0022] - a user interface in the vehicle, wherein the controller is configured to transmit a signal to present an option for selecting the event-driven mode or the operation-driven mode;

[0023] - said reporting of said environmental conditions is controlled by said user via said user interface; and

[0024] - the controller is configured to transmit a message indicating an incentive for activating the reporting when the reporting of the environmental condition is deactivated.

[0025] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a weather detection system for a vehicle includes: a weather sensor configured to sense an environmental condition of an area outside the vehicle in an operable state; an actuator for controlling a response to the environmental condition; a network interface configured to access weather data from a fleet of vehicles; a GPS that tracks the location of the vehicle; a server that processes the location of the vehicle and the environmental condition to anonymize information provided from the vehicle to the fleet of vehicles; and a control circuit that communicates with the weather sensor and the actuator. The control circuit is configured to: report the environmental condition to the server; compare the weather data with the environmental condition; detect an inoperable state of the weather sensor based on the comparison; and control the actuator based on the detection of the inoperable state.

[0026] These and other features, advantages and objectives of the present disclosure will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by referring to the following description, claims and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] In the attached picture:

[0028] Figure 1 It is the block diagram of the weather detection system;

[0029] Figure 2 It is a functional floor plan of the crowdsourcing environment using the weather detection system;

[0030] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method for incentivizing the use of a crowdsourcing feature of a weather detection system; and

[0031] Figure 4is a flow chart illustrating a method of detecting inoperability of a weather sensor of a weather detection system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or similar parts. In the drawings, the depicted structural elements are not drawn to scale, and certain parts are enlarged relative to other parts for the purpose of emphasis and understanding.

[0033] As required, detailed embodiments of the present disclosure are disclosed herein; however, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples of the present disclosure, which may be implemented in various and alternative forms. The drawings are not necessarily detailed designs; some schematic diagrams may be enlarged or minimized to show functional overviews. Therefore, the specific structural details and functional details disclosed herein should not be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching those skilled in the art to adopt the present disclosure in different ways.

[0034] For the purpose of description herein, the terms "upper", "lower", "right", "left", "rear", "front", "vertical", "horizontal" and their derivatives shall refer to the following: Figure 1 The concepts of orientation in the drawings are presented in detail. However, it should be understood that the concepts can assume various alternative orientations unless expressly indicated to the contrary. It should also be understood that the specific devices and processes shown in the drawings and described in the following specification are merely exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claims. Therefore, unless the claims expressly state otherwise, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics related to the embodiments disclosed herein should not be considered limiting.

[0035] The present illustrated embodiments reside primarily in the combination of method steps and apparatus components associated with weather detection for a vehicle environment. Accordingly, apparatus components and method steps have been represented, where appropriate, by conventional symbols in the drawings, and only those specific details relevant to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown so as not to obscure the present disclosure with details that would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Additionally, like reference numerals in the specification and drawings represent like elements.

[0036] As used herein, the term "and / or" when used with a list of two or more items means that any one of the listed items may be employed alone, or any combination of two or more of the listed items may be employed. For example, if a composition is described as containing components A, B, and / or C, the composition may contain: A alone; B alone; C alone; a combination of A and B; a combination of A and C; a combination of B and C; or a combination of A, B, and C.

[0037] In this document, relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom are used singly to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action, without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms "include", "comprises", or any other variation thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, such that a process, method S300, article, or device comprising a series of elements may include not only those elements, but may also include other elements that are not explicitly listed or that are inherent to such process, method S300, article, or device. In the absence of more constraints, an element preceded by "includes..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method S300, article, or device comprising the element.

[0038] As used herein, the term "about" means that the amount, size, formula, parameter and other quantity and characteristics are not exact, nor need to be exact, but may be approximate and / or larger or smaller as needed to reflect tolerances, conversion factors, rounding, measurement errors, etc. and other factors known to those skilled in the art. When the term "about" is used to describe the endpoints of a value or range, the disclosure should be understood to include the specific value or endpoint mentioned. Whether or not the endpoints of a numerical value or range in this specification are described as "about", the endpoints of the numerical value or range are intended to include two embodiments: one modified by "about" and one not modified by "about". It should also be understood that the endpoints of each of the ranges are significant in relation to the other endpoint and independently of the other endpoint.

[0039] As used herein, the terms "substantially," "substantially," and variations thereof are intended to indicate that the feature being described is equal to or approximately equal to a value or description. For example, a "substantially planar" surface is intended to indicate a planar or approximately planar surface. Additionally, "substantially" is intended to mean that two values ​​are equal or approximately equal. In some embodiments, "substantially" may indicate that values ​​are within about 10% of each other, such as within about 5% of each other, or within about 2% of each other.

[0040] Unless expressly indicated to the contrary, as used herein, the terms "the," "a," or "an" mean "at least one" and should not be limited to "only one." Thus, for example, reference to "a component" includes embodiments having two or more such components unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0041] Overall reference Figures 1 to 4, the present disclosure relates to a weather detection system 10, generally indicated at 10. The weather detection system 10 is configured for use with at least one vehicle 12, such as an automobile. For example, the vehicle 12 may be one of a fleet of vehicles 14 that employs the weather detection system 10. Alternatively, the weather detection system 10 is local to the vehicle 12. In a preferred example, the weather detection system 10 is employed with the fleet of vehicles 14, and the members of the fleet of vehicles 14 are classified into nodes 16a to 16g for reporting environmental conditions using one or more weather sensors 18 provided on each of the fleet of vehicles 14. It is contemplated that the fleet of vehicles 14 may include different vehicle models having different weather sensors 18 thereon. Thus, for the purpose of weather information reporting, the fleet of vehicles 14 may include a logical grouping of nodes 16a to 16g.

[0042] Generally, the weather detection system 10 uses crowdsourcing to provide enhanced data collection and inoperability detection for the weather sensors 18. The weather detection system 10 also provides an incentive-based model for weather event reporting.

[0043] Now more specifically refer to Figure 1 , a weather detection system 10 for a vehicle 12 may include a weather sensor 18 configured to sense environmental conditions of an area outside the vehicle 12 in an operable state. The weather detection system 10 also includes an actuator for controlling a response to the environmental conditions and a network interface 20 configured to access weather data from the vehicle fleet 14. The control circuit communicates with the weather sensor 18 and the actuator. The control circuit is configured to: access the weather data via the network interface 20; compare the weather data with the environmental conditions; detect an inoperable state of the weather sensor 18 based on the comparison; and control the actuator based on the detection of the inoperable state. In some examples, the control circuit is configured to report the environmental conditions for transmission to the vehicle fleet 14. For example, the control circuit may include a controller 22 local to the vehicle 12 and a server 24 remote from the vehicle. The controller 22 may be configured to perform operations to selectively report the environmental conditions to the vehicle fleet 14.

[0044] For example, the controller 22 may be selectively operable between an event-driven mode in which the controller 22 communicates environmental conditions based on the nature of the environmental conditions and an operational-driven mode in which the controller 22 communicates environmental conditions during driving of the vehicle 12. The nature of the environmental conditions may refer to the quality, commonality, or intensity of the weather. For example, the nature of the weather pattern may include severe weather patterns, such as funnel clouds, tornadoes, hail, etc., and / or ordinary weather events, such as rain, cloudy skies, sunshine, warm / cold weather, etc. In some examples, the controller 22 may be selectively operable to enter a manual mode in which a user may manually report environmental conditions.

[0045] The control circuitry may be configured to transmit a signal to present an option for selecting an event-driven mode, an operation-driven mode, or a manual mode at a user interface 26 in the vehicle 12. The reporting of environmental conditions is controlled by the user via the user interface 26. The control circuitry is configured to transmit a message to indicate an incentive for activating the reporting when the reporting of environmental conditions is deactivated. For example, as will be further described with respect to the aforementioned figures, one or more of these modes may be incentivized via points, credits, or other incentives awarded to the user for selecting a given reporting mode.

[0046] Still reference Figure 1 , the weather sensor 18 may include one or more imagers 28, rain sensors 30, ambient light sensors 32, temperature sensors 34, wind speed sensors 36, wind direction sensors 38, microphones 40, or any other sensor configured to detect local weather around the vehicle 12. The weather sensor 18 may be utilized in combination with or in place of other systems of the vehicle 12 for checking detected environmental conditions, such as a global positioning system (GPS 42) that tracks the location of the vehicle 12, a user interface 26 (e.g., manual input of weather conditions), feedback from a vehicle control system 44, such as a telematics control unit (TCU) including various motion control systems, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), window cleaning systems (windshield wiper controls), and / or other vehicle systems 44 (e.g., ABS, steering sensors for detecting wheel slip, etc.). For example, an imager 28 or rain sensor 30 may be used to detect moisture conditions and compare them to tire slip detected by the vehicle control system 44. Interior conditions of the vehicle 12 may also be monitored, such as climate control settings including the heating / cooling conditions of the HVAC system, lighting settings of the cabin of the vehicle 12 , or other interior conditions.

[0047] The vehicle control system 44 may also be configured with one or more of the previously described actuators. The controller 22 may be configured to transmit a signal to the vehicle control system 44 to control or adjust the actuator in response to environmental conditions. It is also conceivable that the controller 22 may control the actuator in response to weather information after verifying the environmental conditions. In other words, the controller 22 may adjust the actuator after accurately estimating the environmental conditions. The actuator may include a motor for wiper control or time control, a valve for distributing cleaning fluid, a steering motor, an actuator, an ABS control, or any other vehicle control mechanism that may be controlled in response to different weather conditions.

[0048] The controller 22 may include one or more processors 46 and a memory 48 storing instructions for execution by the one or more processors 46. The controller 22, when executed by the one or more processors 46, may initiate steps of monitoring the weather sensor 18 and controlling one or more of the vehicle control systems 44 in response to the detected weather conditions. For example, the imager 28 may detect rain, and the controller 22 may transmit a signal to operate the wipers of the vehicle 12. A high or low temperature detected by the temperature sensor 34 may cause the controller 22 to transmit a signal to the HVAC system to operate the heating or cooling of the vehicle interior.

[0049] Communication between the weather sensor 18 and the controller 22 may be facilitated via a wired or wireless communication protocol. For example, a control area network (CAN) 50 may be implemented in the vehicle 12. Various other protocols may be used, such as Ethernet, TCP / OP, Universal Serial Bus (USB), or any other protocol. Communications between any of the other systems of the vehicle 12 (e.g., HMI 26, GPS 42, vehicle control system 44) may employ the same or different protocols. While the controller 22 may perform various responses to detected weather conditions of the environment local to the vehicle 12, in a preferred example, the controller 22 is also configured to transmit the detected weather conditions to the network 50 via the network interface 20. For example, the temperature or moisture conditions of the environment may be reported to the vehicle fleet 14 and / or one or more weather stations 51 via the network 50. The network interface 20 may be a communication module for transmitting / receiving signals to / from the server 24 via the network 50. For example, the network interface 20 may include one or more antennas for wirelessly communicating with a weather reporting network (such as the network 50). The network interface 20 may employ SMS and / or any wireless communication protocol.

[0050] Still reference Figure 1, the imager 28 may include one or more cameras 52 in communication with an image processor 54 for performing various image processing functions related to environmental condition detection. For example, the one or more cameras 52 may include a backup camera, a vehicle front camera, a side view camera, an interior camera, or a camera with any other view of the vehicle 12 or the exterior of the vehicle 12. In a preferred example, the image processor 54 processes images of the exterior of the vehicle 12 to detect different types of environmental conditions. For example, the image processor 54 may implement one or more neural networks 50 for tracking pixel groups to perform object recognition or other pattern recognition. In some examples, the image processor 54 is configured to detect moisture conditions (e.g., rain, puddles, splashes), wind direction and / or wind speed, lighting conditions, and other environmental conditions. In one example, the image processor 54 uses background schlieren (BOS) image analysis to calculate the density field of a fluid (e.g., air) between two static images. For example, density gradients and / or orientations may be determined, thereby providing local wind speed estimates using image processing.

[0051] The controller 22 may also or alternatively read from a rain sensor 30, an ambient light sensor 32, a wind speed sensor, a wind direction sensor 38, a humidity sensor, or any other weather detection sensor to determine environmental conditions. These weather sensors 18 may report digital or analog readings to the controller 22. The controller 22 may execute various programs to weight the readings of the weather sensor 18, as will be further described. Typically, infrared light may be detected by the ambient light sensor 32 via an IR sensor. The rain sensor 30 may include one or more capacitors for detecting rain via capacitance measurement. For example, the rain sensor may be mounted toward the windshield of the vehicle 12 for detecting moisture. The wind speed and direction sensor 38 may utilize a diaphragm and a conduit to detect wind speed and direction.

[0052] In general, the use of the weather sensors 18 described herein may be enhanced by calibrating the readings from the weather sensors 18 by the weather detection system 10. For example, if the imager 28 initially flags a rain condition that is not actually a rain condition by comparison with crowdsourced data, the threshold parameters may be adjusted to fine-tune the estimate provided by the image processor 54 to classify the rain condition. Similarly, readings from other sensors (e.g., the infrared ambient light sensor 32) may be weighted by the controller 22. For example, manufacturing variability may cause some sensors to report values, and the weather detection system 10 may calibrate each weather sensor 18 to more accurately reflect weather information across various models of the weather sensors 18.

[0053] Still reference Figure 1, the server 24 stores the environmental condition information reported by each vehicle 12 in the vehicle fleet 14. The server 24 may also include any number of databases for storing such environmental condition information and any number of processors 46 for synthesizing the environmental condition information to calculate weather conditions within a geographic area (see Figure 2 ). For example, the server 24 may process the location data of the vehicle 12 reported by the GPS 42 together with the environmental conditions to generate a map 56 of weather conditions for a geographic area (e.g., 1, 2, 5, 10, 30 square miles or more). Thus, at least a portion of the control circuitry may be included in the server 24 for comparing the various reported environmental conditions to each other to identify statistical or logical relationships associated with weather patterns. In this manner, outliers of the statistical model may be used to detect an inoperability condition of the weather sensor 18. Inoperability may refer to a weather sensor 18 that is faulty, inaccurate, imprecise, or otherwise inconsistent.

[0054] For example, the control circuitry via the server 24 may be configured to merge the various nodes 16a to 16g ( Figure 2 ) and determine an estimate of the environmental condition based on the merging. The server 24 can detect the difference between the estimate and the environmental condition. In this way, the control circuit can identify inaccurate reports from the weather sensors 18 of one or more of the vehicles 12. The server 24 can transmit a message or signal to the controller 22 of the vehicle 12 indicating that the reported weather data is inaccurate or may be inaccurate. The controller 22 can then determine that the weather sensor 18 used to detect the environmental condition reported to the server 24 is inoperable, and other weather sensors 18 can be used for environmental detection and / or an inoperability indication can be transmitted to the user via the user interface 26 to indicate the inoperability. For example, if the imager 28 is used to determine rain conditions, and the imager 28 is subsequently determined to be inoperable based on a comparison with crowdsourced weather data, the controller 22 can instead sample data from the rain sensor 30 for future rain detection.

[0055] Controller 22 may be configured to transmit an indication of the software version or weather sensing software of one or more of weather sensors 18 to server 24 in response to detection of an inoperable state of a given weather sensor 18, referring to Figure 4 Further description. For example, the image processor 54 of the imager 28 can have a corresponding software revision level that can be updated by the server 24 to change the imager 28 to an operational state. Additionally or alternatively, the flash software can be stored on the weather sensor 18 and can have multiple versions for use. In another example, the controller 22 has one or more modules that can be updated.

[0056] The server 24 is also configured to anonymize information provided to the vehicle fleet 14. For example, while data from multiple vehicles (including the locations of the multiple vehicles) may be used to estimate weather conditions in an area, the locations of the multiple vehicles may be anonymous relative to other vehicles in the vehicle fleet. Figure 2 The locations shown in may not be visible to users of the vehicles in the vehicle fleet 14 .

[0057] Reference now Figure 2 , the weather detection system 10 may be operable to map weather conditions in the area where the target vehicle 12 or target node 16a is located. The nodes 16a-16g correspond to members of the vehicle fleet 14. Although shown as an overlay map 56, due to the anonymization of data reporting by the server 24, such a map 56 of weather conditions may omit the visibility of the nodes 16a-16g when presented to a user (via, for example, the user interface 26).

[0058] like Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , each node 16a to 16g is configured to selectively report environmental conditions at the location of the corresponding node 16a to 16g. Based on the reported environmental conditions, the control circuit determines weather data for the area of ​​the target node 16a. For example, the server 24 can compile all environments in the area to classify weather, such as rainy, cloudy, a specific temperature or temperature range, thunderstorm conditions, hurricane conditions, tornado conditions, lighting conditions, etc. Although the Figure 2 The properties reported by the nodes 16a to 16g in FIG. 1 are primarily temperature and lighting / rain conditions, but it is contemplated that any / all environmental conditions detected by the weather sensor 18 on each node 16a to 16g may be reported to the server 24 and tracked.

[0059] Figure 2 The target node 16a is located inside a building. Therefore, the reported environmental conditions are significantly different from those reported in the area (higher temperature, lower light levels). Therefore, the controller 22 can use the location data to selectively exclude this data without determining an inoperable condition of the weather sensor 18 on the target node 16a. For example, although the reported temperature may differ from the actual weather conditions by more than 5°F, the server 24 may still not report an inoperable condition because the target node 16a is in a garage, under a carport, etc. (where the temperature or other environmental conditions are significantly different from the actual weather conditions). Therefore, the example shown demonstrates accurate weather condition reporting using location data.

[0060] like Figure 2, the control circuitry can classify a rainy environment based on environmental conditions reported by the vehicle fleet 14. For example, the control circuitry can generate a separation line 58 between a first area 60 experiencing rainfall and a search area that is not experiencing rainfall. Thus, when the vehicle 12 approaches and crosses the separation line 58 into the rainy environment, automatic control options of the vehicle 12, such as automatic headlight functions, automatic wiper control, or automatic speed adjustment, can be proactively implemented. Such a separation line 58 can be determined for any other weather conditions. Thus, the control circuitry is configured to transmit a signal to a lighting system, a wiper control system, or a vehicle motion control system based on the crowdsourced weather report.

[0061] Reference now Figure 3 , the weather detection system 10 can perform an incentive-based method S300 for promoting weather reporting of vehicles 12. The incentive provided to the user can be in the form of points, gas cards, maintenance discounts, money, or other incentives. The level of incentive allocation can vary depending on the weather reporting settings. For example, an operation-driven weather report can have a larger reward than a manual weather report or an event-driven report. By incentivizing users, the vehicle fleet 14 can provide a more robust estimate of weather information, thereby optimizing the detection of inoperable weather sensors 18.

[0062] Method S300 includes selecting a weather sharing option at S302. The weather sharing option may be presented via the user interface 26 or a mobile device (e.g., a smart phone or tablet computer) in communication with the vehicle 12. After selecting the weather sharing option, the user may select between automatic or manual weather reporting at S304. For manual reporting, the user may be prompted to report the weather based on time (e.g., daily, hourly) or each time the vehicle 12 engine is started, and an incentive may be allocated according to a first incentive plan (S306). Alternatively, the manual weather report may cause the controller 22 to transmit a signal to generate a digital button on the touch screen interface or make it visible to allow the user to select when a major or severe weather condition occurs. For example, if the imager 28 detects that a funnel cloud is formed in the sky or the microphone 40 detects hail, the user interface 26 may present a prompt to report the weather condition when in the manual reporting mode. In other examples, rain conditions or abnormal conditions outside the typical weather pattern detected by the weather sensor 18 may cause the user interface 26 to prompt the user to report the weather condition.

[0063] If the automatic weather reporting option is selected, the method S300 also includes presenting an option for stimulating an operation-driven weather report or an event-driven weather report at S308. For example, in the operation-driven weather reporting mode, when the vehicle 12 is in use / powered on, the environmental conditions detected based on the weather sensor 18 are transmitted to the server 24, and incentives are allocated according to the second incentive plan (S310). In the event-driven weather reporting mode, the environmental conditions are reported based on the classification of the environmental conditions, and incentives are allocated according to the third incentive plan (S312). For example, the control circuit may compare the detected environmental conditions with an array of pre-stored environmental conditions that automatically trigger environmental condition reporting. The array may be programmed by the control circuit (e.g., a learning algorithm), or may be programmed by the user.

[0064] For example, the array can be programmed into various predefined categories that can be selected by the user. The categories can include TIER 1 weather events, TIER 2 weather events, etc., where each layer corresponds to a set of weather conditions. For example, TIER 1 can include only emergency conditions, such as storms (tornadoes, hurricanes, hail, thunderstorms, etc.), TIER 2 can include rain conditions, TIER 3 can include other conditions, etc. Therefore, when the environmental conditions fall into one of the layers, the user can select automatic reporting. In this way, automatic weather reporting can have different levels according to user settings.

[0065] Each of the tiers may also be assigned a corresponding incentive level. For example, selecting the above TIER 1 may be rewarded with a first incentive level, and selecting TIER 2 may be rewarded with a second incentive level different from the first incentive level. Depending on the expected frequency of automatic reporting, the reward for TIER 1 selection may be lower than the reward for TIER 2 selection. In this way, the incentive-based method S300 may be dynamically adjusted to promote crowdsourcing.

[0066] Reference now Figure 4 , a method S400 for detecting the operability of a weather sensor 18 in the form of an image is presented, but the method S400 can be applied to other weather sensors 18 described herein. At step S402, the imager 28 operates the camera 52 to capture an image of an area outside the vehicle 12. At step S404, an environmental condition is detected based on the image. For example, the controller 22 can determine the environmental condition. The environmental condition can then be compared to the weather condition at step S406. For example, the server 24 can determine the weather condition in the area based on crowdsourced weather information from the rest of the vehicle fleet 14 in or around the area.

[0067] At step 408, the control circuit calculates the difference between the environmental condition and the weather information to check whether the difference exceeds a predefined threshold. For example, if the given environmental condition is temperature, the threshold can be a percentage change relative to the expected temperature (e.g., based on weather information from the vehicle fleet 14). In other examples, other qualitative differences may be included, such as standard deviation, median, mode, weighted average (e.g., based on the proximity of other nodes 16a to 16g relative to the target node 16a) or other statistical operations for calculating temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, etc. In some examples, the threshold is a qualitative classification threshold. For example, if the detected environmental condition is "night" or "dark", but the weather information indicates "sunny", the difference may exceed the threshold, while "dim" and "sunny" may not meet the conditions for exceeding the threshold. Therefore, the threshold can be any quantitative or qualitative parameter for checking the accuracy of the reported environmental condition.

[0068] If the difference is less than or equal to the threshold, the weather information is updated at step S410. For example, the controller 22 or server 24 may store the reported environmental conditions and update the weather information for the given area. In other words, once the control circuit detects a good reading (e.g., an operational weather sensor 18), the control circuit updates the estimated weather conditions for the given area and continues to accept data from the target node 16a.

[0069] If the difference exceeds the threshold, the weather information is not updated (step S412), the current software revision of the weather sensor 18 and / or a portion of the controller 22 is notified to the administrator of the control circuit (e.g., the software distribution server 24) (step 414), and the server 24 requests a software update of the weather sensor 18 / controller 22 based on the current software revision (S416). At step 418, the user interface 26 may present a notification to the user indicating that the weather sensor 18 is inoperable. At step 420, the user interface 26 prompts the user to select another weather sensor 18 to estimate the environmental condition or eliminate the inoperability detection. For example, if the image-based detection of rain is inoperable (e.g., rain is detected when the weather information indicates a clear condition), the controller 22 may select to use the rain sensor 30 to detect rain. In another example, both the imager 28 and the rain sensor 30 are initially used, but when they are inoperable, the controller 22 selects to use only the rain sensor 30. If the user selects an alternative weather sensor 18, the alternative weather sensor 18 is monitored to detect environmental conditions based on another sensing method.

[0070] It is contemplated that, although some steps of method S400 are not shown in detail, method S400 may also include operating one or more components in response to weather information and / or environmental conditions. For example, in response to detection of rain, controller 22 may transmit instructions to the wipers to initiate a wipe cycle, reduce speed, etc. Alternatively, in response to detection of inoperability of weather sensor 18, the control circuitry cannot trust the readings from weather sensor 18 and therefore prohibits transmitting instructions to one or more of vehicle control systems 44 to excite or activate actuators (e.g., wipers, steering devices, etc.). Therefore, in addition to detection of operability of weather sensor 18 and excitation crowdsourcing, the present weather detection system 10 also provides an enhanced vehicle response to weather conditions.

[0071] It should be understood that changes and modifications may be made to the aforementioned structures without departing from the concepts of the present disclosure, and it should be further understood that such concepts are intended to be covered by the appended claims unless the claims explicitly state otherwise by their language.

[0072] According to the present invention, a weather detection system for a vehicle is provided, which has: a weather sensor, which is configured to sense environmental conditions of an area outside the vehicle in an operable state; an actuator, which is used to control a response to the environmental conditions; a network interface, which is configured to access weather data from a fleet of vehicles; a control circuit, which communicates with the weather sensor and the actuator, wherein the control circuit is configured to: access the weather data via the network interface; compare the weather data with the environmental conditions; detect an inoperable state of the weather sensor based on the comparison; and control the actuator based on the detection of the inoperable state.

[0073] According to an embodiment, the control circuit is configured to report the environmental condition for transmission to the fleet of vehicles.

[0074] According to an embodiment, the invention is further characterized by: a GPS that tracks the location of the vehicle; and a server that processes the location of the vehicle and the environmental conditions to anonymize information provided to the fleet of vehicles.

[0075] According to an embodiment, the control circuit is configured to merge data from various nodes of the fleet of vehicles and to determine an estimate of the environmental condition based on the merging.

[0076] According to an embodiment, said comparing comprises detecting a difference between said estimated value and said environmental condition.

[0077] According to an embodiment, the weather sensor includes a camera that captures an image of the external environment and an image processor that processes the image to detect the environmental condition.

[0078] According to an embodiment, the control circuit comprises a controller local to the vehicle, the controller being configured to transmit an indication of the inoperable state and a software version of the image processor to the server in response to detection of the inoperable state.

[0079] According to an embodiment, the server is configured to transmit an update of the image processor based on the software version.

[0080] According to an embodiment, the control circuit comprises a controller local to the vehicle, wherein the controller is configured to perform an operation of selectively reporting the environmental condition to the fleet of vehicles.

[0081] According to an embodiment, the controller is selectively operable between an event driven mode in which the controller communicates the environmental condition based on an identification of the environmental condition and an operational driven mode in which the controller communicates the environmental condition during driving of the vehicle.

[0082] According to an embodiment, the invention also features a user interface in the vehicle, wherein the control circuit is configured to transmit a signal to present an option at the user interface for selecting the event-driven mode or the operation-driven mode.

[0083] According to an embodiment, the reporting of the environmental condition is controlled by input of the user interface.

[0084] According to an embodiment, the control circuit is configured to transmit a message indicating a stimulus for activating the reporting when the reporting of the environmental condition is deactivated.

[0085] According to the present invention, a weather detection system for a vehicle is provided, comprising: a weather sensor, which is configured to sense environmental conditions of an area outside the vehicle in an operable state; an actuator, which is used to control a response to the environmental conditions; a network interface, which is configured to access weather data from a fleet of vehicles; a controller local to the vehicle, which communicates with the weather sensor and the actuator, wherein the control circuit is configured to control the actuator based on detection of an inoperable state of the weather sensor; and a server, which communicates with the controller, which is configured to compare the weather data with the environmental conditions and detect the inoperable state of the weather sensor based on the comparison.

[0086] According to an embodiment, the controller is configured to selectively report the environmental condition to the server.

[0087] According to an embodiment, the controller is selectively operable between an event driven mode in which the controller communicates the environmental condition based on an identification of the environmental condition and an operational driven mode in which the controller communicates the environmental condition during driving of the vehicle.

[0088] According to an embodiment, the invention also features a user interface in the vehicle, wherein the controller is configured to transmit a signal to present an option for selecting the event-driven mode or the operation-driven mode.

[0089] According to an embodiment, the reporting of the environmental condition is controlled by the user via the user interface.

[0090] According to an embodiment, the controller is configured to transmit a message indicating a stimulus for activating the reporting when the reporting of the environmental condition is deactivated.

[0091] According to the present invention, a weather detection system for a vehicle is provided, which has: a weather sensor, which is configured to sense environmental conditions of an area outside the vehicle in an operable state; an actuator, which is used to control a response to the environmental conditions; a network interface, which is configured to access weather data from a fleet of vehicles; a GPS, which tracks the location of the vehicle; a server, which processes the location of the vehicle and the environmental conditions to anonymize information provided from the vehicle to the fleet of vehicles; and a control circuit, which communicates with the weather sensor and the actuator, wherein the control circuit is configured to: report the environmental conditions to the server; compare the weather data with the environmental conditions; detect an inoperable state of the weather sensor based on the comparison; and control the actuator based on the detection of the inoperable state.

Claims

1. A weather detection system for a vehicle, comprising: a weather sensor configured to sense environmental conditions of an area external to the vehicle in an operable state; an actuator for controlling a response to the environmental condition; a network interface configured to access weather data from a fleet of vehicles; a control circuit in communication with the weather sensor and the actuator, wherein the control circuit is configured to: accessing the weather data via the network interface; comparing the weather data to the environmental conditions; detecting an inoperable state of the weather sensor based on the comparing; and The actuator is controlled based on the detection of the inoperable state.

2. The weather detection system of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is configured to report the environmental condition for transmission to the fleet of vehicles.

3. The weather detection system according to claim 2, further comprising: GPS, the GPS tracking the location of the vehicle; as well as A server processes the location of the vehicle and the environmental conditions to anonymize information provided to the fleet of vehicles.

4. The weather detection system of claim 3, wherein the control circuit is configured to merge data from various nodes of the fleet of vehicles and determine an estimate of the environmental condition based on the merger.

5. The weather detection system of claim 4, wherein the comparing comprises detecting a difference between the estimated value and the environmental condition.

6. The weather detection system of any one of claims 3 or 4, wherein the weather sensor comprises a camera that captures images of the external environment and an image processor that processes the images to detect the environmental conditions.

7. The weather detection system of claim 6, wherein the control circuitry comprises a controller local to the vehicle, the controller configured to transmit an indication of the inoperable condition and a software version of the image processor to the server in response to detection of the inoperable condition.

8. The weather detection system of claim 7, wherein the server is configured to transmit an update of the image processor based on the software version.

9. The weather detection system of claim 2, wherein the control circuit comprises a controller local to the vehicle, wherein the controller is configured to perform operations to selectively report the environmental conditions to the fleet of vehicles.

10. The weather detection system of claim 9, wherein the controller is selectively operable between an event driven mode in which the controller communicates the environmental condition based on an identification of the environmental condition and an operational driven mode in which the controller communicates the environmental condition during driving of the vehicle.

11. The weather detection system according to claim 10, further comprising A user interface in the vehicle, wherein the control circuit is configured to transmit a signal to present an option at the user interface for selecting the event-driven mode or the operation-driven mode.

12. The weather detection system of claim 11, wherein said reporting of said environmental conditions is controlled by input from said user interface.

13. The weather detection system of claim 12, wherein the control circuit is configured to transmit a message indicating a stimulus for activating the reporting when the reporting of the environmental condition is disabled.

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