Virtual Ambient Weather Sensing for Vehicle Component Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicle sensors are limited in their ability to accurately gather and provide real-time weather data, especially for conditions like humidity and wind speed, due to the vehicle's motion, which can lead to inefficient vehicle system operations and safety issues.
Innovation Solution
A system that utilizes a server communicating with weather data services, a GPS module, and a vehicle computing system to request and relay weather data to component control systems, allowing for adjustments to vehicle components based on current ambient conditions, even when certain data types are impractical to measure onboard.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If vehicle-mounted sensors are used to gather weather data, then the system can detect local weather conditions, but the data accuracy deteriorates due to vehicle motion causing delayed or corrupted measurements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces remote weather sensors and a server as intermediaries between the vehicle and weather data sources. Instead of relying on vehicle-mounted sensors that are affected by motion, the system queries remote sensors via a server to obtain accurate, real-time weather data from locations along the vehicle's route, thereby resolving the contradiction between vehicle motion and measurement precision.
2Loss of information
If remote weather data services are queried continuously, then real-time weather information is obtained, but system complexity and communication overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by caching weather data locally and using prediction algorithms to anticipate future weather conditions along the vehicle's route. This reduces the need for continuous real-time queries to remote services, thereby maintaining information availability while reducing system complexity and communication overhead.
3Productivity
If vehicle sensors attempt to measure conditions like humidity during motion, then real-time data collection is achieved, but measurement reliability deteriorates due to inability to take stationary measurements
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a virtual copy of the weather sensing function by querying remote weather sensors instead of relying on physical vehicle-mounted sensors. This virtual sensing approach copies the measurement capability from reliable stationary remote sensors, maintaining both productivity and reliability without requiring the vehicle to be stationary.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for providing weather conditions includes a server in communication with a weather data provision service. The server includes a middleware application operable to process weather data requests. The system also includes a gps module, and at least one component control system, operable to adjust at least one parameter associated with at least one vehicle component. Finally, the illustrative system includes a vehicle computing system, in communication with the GPS module, the at least one component control system, and the server. In response to a request for data from the component control system, the vehicle computing system passes GPS data to the server, including the request for data, and the vehicle computing system responsively receives the requested data from the server. The vehicle computing system relays the received data to the component control system that requested the data.