U.S. patent application number 12/503905 was filed with the patent office on 2010-01-21 for system and method for displaying storm tracks.
This patent application is currently assigned to Baron Services, Inc.. Invention is credited to Robert O. Baron, SR., Sherman L. Wilcox.
Application Number | 20100017129 12/503905 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46329438 |
Filed Date | 2010-01-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100017129 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wilcox; Sherman L. ; et
al. |
January 21, 2010 |
System and Method for Displaying Storm Tracks
Abstract
A system and method for displaying storm tracks is provided. The
method includes combining topographic imagery, preferably
high-resolution photographic images, with storm path vectors. The
method further comprises panning along the storm path vector, in a
"zoomed-in" mode, to allow site-specific depiction of geographic
landmarks and expected times of arrival. A system for performing
the method includes control logic which causes a computer system to
execute the steps of the method is also provided.
Inventors: |
Wilcox; Sherman L.;
(Huntsville, AL) ; Baron, SR.; Robert O.;
(Huntsville, AL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BRADLEY ARANT BOULT CUMMINGS LLP
200 CLINTON AVE. WEST, SUITE 900
HUNTSVILLE
AL
35801
US
|
Assignee: |
Baron Services, Inc.
Huntsville
AL
|
Family ID: |
46329438 |
Appl. No.: |
12/503905 |
Filed: |
July 16, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11867191 |
Oct 4, 2007 |
7584054 |
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12503905 |
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11404392 |
Apr 14, 2006 |
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11867191 |
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60671240 |
Apr 14, 2005 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
702/3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01W 1/10 20130101; G01W
1/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
702/3 |
International
Class: |
G06F 19/00 20060101
G06F019/00; G01W 1/00 20060101 G01W001/00 |
Claims
1. A system for tracking storms comprising: a. a memory for storing
topographical imagery for a geographical area; and b. a logic
configured to receive meteorological data related to storms in the
geographic area, process the meteorological data to define at least
one storm path vector and create a composite image by combining the
topographical imagery and storm path vector where the storm path
vector essentially bisects the composite image.
2. The system of claim 1 where the composite image further
comprises at least one associated boundary area that a storm in the
geographic area may affect.
3. The system of claim 1 further comprising logic configured to
display only a portion of the storm path vector at any point in
time.
4. The system of claim 3 further comprising logic configured to
display an arrival time indicator.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the topographical imagery
comprises one or more high-resolution photographic images.
6. The system of claim 4, wherein the topographical imagery
comprises one or more high-resolution photographic images.
7. An apparatus for automatically displaying the projected movement
of a storm with high-resolution overhead photographic images of a
geographic area wherein the apparatus comprises a software or
firmware encoded on tangible media operated on by a processor, said
processor being programmed to perform the steps of: a. allowing an
user to select at least one storm; b. obtaining the geographic
location, predicted direction of movement, and predicted speed of
advance of the storm; c. generating a storm path vector from the
storm's current geographic location, predicted direction of
movement, and predicted speed of advance; d. allowing the user to
select at least one time interval premised upon the storm path
vector; e. creating one or more composite images by combining the
storm path vector with one or more high-resolution photographic
images of a geographical area; and f. displaying the one or more
composite images; and g. automatically progressing along the storm
path vector, advancing in time toward, wherein a segment of the
storm path vector is displayed at any point in time, after
receiving an user input initiating said progression along the storm
path vector.
8. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising a processor
programmed to display an arrival time indicator communicating the
estimated arrival of the storm at a particular location.
9. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising the step of
generating a boundary area that the storm may affect during some
future time interval and wherein the step of creating one or more
composite images by combining the storm path vector with one or
more high-resolution photographic images of a geographical area
further includes combining the boundary area.
10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said one or more composite
images includes the names of geographic landmarks.
11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein one or more geographic
landmark names are automatically displayed during the displaying
step when the expected future position of the storm is near the
geographic landmark.
12. An apparatus for tracking a projected path of a storm wherein
the system comprises a software or firmware encoded on tangible
media operated on by a processor, said processor being programmed
to perform the steps of: a. allowing an user to select at least one
storm; b. obtaining the geographic location, predicted direction of
movement, and predicted speed of advance of the storm; c.
generating a storm path vector from the storm's current geographic
location, predicted direction of movement, and predicted speed of
advance; d. allowing the user to select at least one time interval
premised upon the storm path vector; e. creating one or more
composite images by combining the storm path vector with one or
more high-resolution photographic images of a geographical area;
and f. displaying the one or more composite images; and g.
automatically progressing along the storm path vector, advancing in
time toward, wherein a segment of the storm path vector is
displayed at any point in time, after receiving an user input
initiating said progression along the storm path vector.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the topographic imagery
comprises one or more high-resolution photographic images.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This non-provisional application is a continuation of, and
claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Nonprovisional App. Ser.
No. 11/867,191, which is a contintuation-in-part of, and claims
priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Nonprovisional App. Ser. No.
11/404,392, filed Apr. 14, 2006, which claims priority to U.S.
Provisional App. Ser. No. 60/671,240, filed Apr. 14, 2005, all of
which are incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to the display of weather
symbology upon high-resolution photographic images and
topographical imagery, and more particularly, to a system and
method for displaying storm tracks, panning along the storm path
advancing in time, on high-resolution images and other
topographical imagery.
BACKGROUND
[0003] High resolution images are beneficial for showing detailed
images of significant landmarks and structures. Resolution in this
case refers to the ground distance represented by a screen pixel.
The resolution viewable depends upon the overall distance shown on
the screen. In other words, if the viewable width of the image
displayed on the screen is 3000 miles, the resolution would be
about 2000 meters, at 500 miles the resolution improves to 300
meters, and so on.
[0004] A shortcoming in the current art is that such high
resolution images, in digital form, require a large amount of
computer-readable memory. An image is typically comprised of a
plurality of "tiles" which include an image file (e.g., bmp, jpeg,
or the like) of a portion of the image and a meta-data file which
stores identifying information about the tile such as geographic
coordinates and a sequence number to define its place in the
overall image. As resolution increases, so does the number of tiles
which are required to display and image. For example, a 2000 meter
resolution image data may comprise twenty to thirty tiles. A 30
meter resolution image may consist of thousands of tiles. A high
resolution image may consist of hundreds of thousands of tiles.
Since each tile comprises about 256.times.256 bmps, memory required
to store and display high resolution images, large memory capacity
is required.
[0005] A typical one meter resolution image used in weather
displays covers about a 60 to 100 square mile area and represents
an uncompressed file size of about five gigabytes of storage space.
This is roughly the limit of the area capable of being accessed and
displayed because current display techniques often require reading,
the entire image before displaying any of it. If a different
location is desired to be viewed, another five gigabyte file must
be read.
[0006] Television stations typically serve a viewing area covering
hundreds or thousands of square miles and either cannot store a
significant number of files of high resolution images covering
their entire viewing area, or cannot quickly display selected areas
of images within their viewing areas to display relevant weather
events. When an image is accessed for display, the tiles comprising
are loaded for display sequentially according to the sequence
number in the meta-data file. Since weather events occur over a
large area, a plurality of threats may be imminent at any given
point over the entire viewing area, but to show the high resolution
images the various points would take a significant amount of
crucial time to load and display the image. Moreover, weather
events advance over ground in a manner that is likely inconsistent
with the sequencing scheme of the tiles. Therefore, to track
weather events across multiple non-sequentially related tiles, it
is necessary for the system to remember the position of a first
tile, then calculate its relationship to the next tile desired to
be within the view which results in a cumbersome technique.
Finally, when panning across an area, whole tiles must be dropped
from view, and the new tiles added, again, sequentially. If the
panning is not according to the tile sequence scheme, the access
and loading time is lengthy.
[0007] Because of this limitation, the current art may access and
display an image affected by a weather event occurring within the
area represented by the image, but it fails to allow display of an
image covering an area that is beyond the scope of the first image
without significant processing time. Consequently, typical
commercial weather information activities, such as television
stations, only display high resolution images of densely populated
areas. However, weather systems, for example, severe storms, often
occur over larger geographic areas.
SUMMARY
[0008] A method for displaying weather-related symbology with
high-resolution overhead photographic images of geographic areas
comprises the steps of obtaining a high-resolution photographic
image of a geographic area where the image comprises a plurality of
tiles, and each of the tiles comprises a high-resolution image file
and are assembled to form the image according to geographic
coordinates, then accessing at least one tile where such tile
comprises a high resolution image of a geographic sub-area, and
then creating a composite image by combining weather-related
symbology with the tile to create a composite image, where the
weather-related symbology indicating a weather event relevant to
said geographic sub-area.
[0009] A system for performing the method includes a processor
readable memory configured with control logic which causes a
computer system to execute the steps of the method.
[0010] These and other embodiments of the present invention will
also become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the
following detailed description of the embodiments having reference
to the attached figures, the invention not being limited to any
particular embodiment(s) disclosed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0011] The present invention is described in association with the
below-listed Figures. In the drawings, like reference numbers
indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally,
the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing
in which the reference number first appears.
[0012] FIG. 1 is a flowchart depicting a method according to one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting a method according to
another embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 3A is a computer screen capture depicting use of a
method according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 3B is a computer screen capture depicting use of a
method according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 3C is a computer screen capture depicting use of a
method according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 3D is a computer screen capture depicting use of a
method according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 3E is a computer screen capture depicting use of a
method according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 4 is a functional diagram of a computer system for
implementing a method according to an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0020] FIG. 5A is a computer screen capture depicting use of a
method according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 5B is a computer screen capture depicting use of a
method according to one embodiment of the present invention;
and
[0022] FIG. 5C is a computer screen capture depicting use of a
method according to one embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] The various embodiments of the present invention and their
advantages are best understood by referring to FIGS. 1 through 5C
of the drawings. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily
to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating
the principles of the invention. Throughout the drawings, like
numerals are used for like and corresponding parts of the various
drawings.
[0024] Furthermore, reference in the specification to "an
embodiment," "one embodiment," "various embodiments," or any
variant thereof means that a particular feature or aspect of the
invention described in conjunction with the particular embodiment
is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention.
Thus, the appearance of the phrases "in one embodiment," "in
another embodiment," or variations thereof in various places
throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to
its respective embodiment.
[0025] All embodiments disclosed below may be provided in other
specific forms and embodiments without departing from the essential
characteristics as described herein, The embodiments described
below are to be considered in all aspects as illustrative only and
not restrictive in any manner. The appended claims rather than the
following description indicate the scope of the invention.
[0026] FIG. 1 displays steps according to one embodiment. First, a
high resolution image of a geographic area is obtained 101, and a
portion of the image, represented by a tile described in detail
below, is accessed 103, where the tile represents a geographic
sub-area. A symbol indicating a weather event is then overlaid upon
the tile 105. High resolution, in this instance, is deemed to
include resolutions of five meters or less, meaning that a display
pixel used in typical digital image display electronics hardware
would correspond to a geographic area of five square meters. A
resolution of one meter or better is preferred. Those skilled in
the relevant arts with the benefit of reading this disclosure will
appreciate that higher resolutions may be used assuming adequate
processing and display capability are provided.
[0027] The high-resolution image is a set of one or more electronic
image tiles that are comprised of a high resolution image file of a
portion of the geographic area and a meta data file. The meta data
tile includes identification, position and possibly descriptive
information about the image file. Specifically, meta data
associated with each tile includes the geographic coordinates
mapped to the image. Meta data may also store other information
regarding the image, such as the type of projection, i.e.,
Mercator, UTM, or Lambert conformal, or other projection
techniques. Each of the files may be a compressed file which has
been compressed using an algorithm that results in a high
compression rate. A non-limiting example of such an algorithm is
the well-known wavelet compression algorithm. A high compression
rate is one that results in a compressed file size that is about
10% or less of the original file size. The compressed file also
typically includes meta-data which enables access to any portion of
the file based upon coordinates, usually geo-referenced
coordinates. The high compression ratio allows the storage, reading
and display of images of large uncompressed file size, e.g.,
greater that 5 gigabytes. One form of wavelet compression suitable
for use in the present invention is the JPEG 2000 standard.
[0028] Image tiles are associated with a data structure that
permits loading and displaying of tiles. For example, a data
structure may be constructed in the form a two-dimensional array,
the cells of which contain, or reference, the tile meta data. The
array may be populated according to geographic coordinates by
constructively placing tiles in the data structure according to the
corresponding geographic coordinates represented by the constituent
tile images. Control logic, defined below, is then implemented to
enable selection of a tile based upon geographic coordinates, the
opening and display of that tile, and the opening and display of a
group of tiles surrounding the selected tile, if desired. The
geographic coordinates may be those that represent a point that is
within an area that is affected by a weather event, called the
relevant area. When geographic coordinates are entered, either
through manual or automatic input, the array is searched to
determine which cell includes the input geographic coordinates and
that tile is displayed. The number of tiles opened in the group may
be according to a user-defined limit, or may be the limit of the
tiles able to be displayed by system display.
[0029] To increase the speed with which an image may be displayed,
the data structure may be a two-dimensional data structure that is
a sub-array of a larger two-dimensional array, where each cell in
the sub-array comprises a tile. For example, a large array,
referred to for clarity purposes as Array Large, is a
two-dimensional array where each of the cells is a two-dimensional
sub-array, herein called Sub-Array(n) that represents an area that
includes at least one set of geographic coordinates. Each cell in
Sub-Array(n) contains a tile, or the reference to a tile provided
by that tile's meta data, and represents a sub-area that includes
at least one set of geographic coordinates. When a geographic
reference point is entered for an area to be displayed, control
logic executes a test of each Sub-Array(n) to determine whether the
reference point is within the geographic coordinates included in
the sub-area represented by the Sub Array. If so, then the entire
group of tiles within the selected Sub-Array(n) are loaded and
displayed. This enables the ability to quickly cull the tiles that
are not needed to be displayed, and to locate and display tiles
that are relevant.
[0030] It will be apparent to those skilled in the arts that other
embodiments may be implemented wherein a sub-array may be further
divided such that each cell is comprised of a second sub-array,
each cell is populated with tile information and defines a second
sub-area that includes a geographic coordinate. Alternatively, the
cells in the second sub-array could be divided into a third
sub-array, and so on depending upon the size of the image, the
magnification desired, and the number of tiles that comprise the
image.
[0031] An image may comprise many tiles and display capacity may be
limited to a finite number of tiles. It may be desired to "pan,"
i.e., shift the image to view another geographic sub-area. In that
case, the tiles are removed that no longer need to be displayed and
tiles comprising the images of the new geographic sub-area are
accessed and displayed in the manner described above. The
determination as to which tiles are to be removed and which tiles
are to be displayed will be based upon the input of geographic
coordinates located in the direction of the shift. In other words,
when a shift is commanded, either manually, or executed with
control logic, geographic coordinates within in the next cell of
the array, sub-array, etc., in direction of the shift are input,
and the cell is accessed and the tile or tiles associated with that
cell are loaded for display.
[0032] In another embodiment, an application that can be adapted to
structure the tiles and access them in a technique similar that
described in the preceding paragraphs is available under the name
"ECW JPEG 2000 Software Development Kit" from ER Mapper which is
headquartered at 2 Abbotsford Street, West Leederville WA 6007,
Australia. This application is able to compress large imagery
files, on the order of 50 Terabytes (50,000 Gigabytes) by 95% or
greater making such files much easier to store, and manipulate. In
addition, it permits a rapid selection of image tiles, and groups
of image tiles for display.
[0033] Once the high resolution image is obtained and a portion
selected, and accessed, weather event symbology is overlaid upon
this image creating a high resolution weather event display. One
non-limiting example of weather event symbology that can be used is
known as Storm Cell Identification and Tracking or "SCIT". SCIT
symbology has been used by the National Weather Service to indicate
near real-time position and predicted direction of a storm cell.
SCITs were also described and used in the co-owned U.S. Pat. No.
6,670,908 to Wilson, et al, entitled "Automated System and Method
for Processing Meteorological Data", issued Dec. 30, 2003,
incorporated herein by reference, and provides among other
information a graphical representation of threat location and
forecasted movement related to a geographic area based upon a
variety of weather data from a variety of sources. The SCIT
includes a reference point indicating the geographic location of a
storm cell, and, extending therefrom, a vector indicating the
predicted direction of storm movement and the speed of advance. A
fan encompasses the point and vector arrow to, show a margin in
which the storm might move or otherwise affect,
[0034] Display symbols include geographic locations within the
storms path, represented by the vector arrow, and within the fan.
The SCIT is geo-referenced, meaning that the points comprising the
symbols are associated with geographic coordinates, usually
latitude and longitude or equivalents. Weather events represented
by the symbology include, but are not limited to, thunderstorms,
cyclonic activity and wind shear, or the like.
[0035] Symbology is overlaid onto the high resolution image by
mapping corresponding geographic coordinates forming a composite
image. In other words the coordinates that are comprised in the
symbology are mapped to their corresponding coordinates comprised
in the high resolution image. Thus, a high resolution image may be
displayed along with the weather event symbology, so that
locations, including buildings, such as schools, hospitals,
government facilities, and the like, or other significant
locations, are shown in detail, and how they may be affected by the
weather event. It should be noted that city/town names, building
names, street names, and labels of other landmarks maybe
incorporated into the display.
[0036] Accessing the image for display may be performed by manually
inputting site-identifying data, such as place name, address,
latitude and longitude, or other geographic reference. The image
may also be accessed through the use of a GUI whereby a user
manipulates a cursor or pointer and indicates a point, or an area,
on the display corresponding to coordinates comprised within a
composite image. The composite image may then be displayed.
[0037] A computer processing system, described below, may be used
to automatically execute the method described above for creating
and displaying the composite image where the computer processing
system is configured to access the image, overlay weather-related
symbology thereon and display the resulting composite image.
Similarly, it may then access a second composite image and display
that image, and so forth. The second image may be an image slightly
shifted geographically (or "panned") with respect to the first
image. Alternatively, it could be a composite image of another
geographic area.
[0038] For example, a report of a weather event's effect upon an
area may include displaying the high resolution image overlaid with
the point location of the event for a period of time. Since the
vector is a representation of the storm's speed of advance, points
along the arrow may be accessed using the methods described herein
and viewed based upon time. Then, advancing in time, along the
vector arrow some time interval, a geographic point that will be
affected some time in the future may be displayed in high
resolution, and so on to the terminus of the vector, panning the
composite image from the start of the vector to the terminus in the
manner described above. Additionally, where there are multiple
weather events occurring in a particular area, each composite image
portion associated with a weather event may be accessed and
displayed, preferably automatically, based upon a priority
scheme.
[0039] FIGS. 3A through 3E are screen captures of a computer
display showing use of the composite images. FIG. 3A depicts a
composite image 300 where weather event symbology 302 is overlaid
on an image displayed at a magnification such that only area
topography is discernable.
[0040] FIG. 3B shows a composite image 305 of weather symbology 307
overlaying a high resolution image of an area. Perceived
magnification of the image is increased so that the imagery of the
geographic area of interest is discernable. FIG. 3C is a magnified
view of a composite image 310 the reference point 313 of the
weather event symbology overlaid upon a high resolution image. This
would depict the latest position of the weather event. At this
magnification, significant landmarks are discernable.
[0041] FIG. 3D is a screen capture of a composite image 320
comprising a high resolution image overlaid with the weather
symbology 325 and presenting some time interval in the future from
the current position depicted in FIG. 3C. Again, at this
magnification, prominent buildings may be distinguished. The line
325 through the image is the vector arrow, originating at the
reference point shown in FIG. 3C, representing the predicted path
of the weather event. In a further embodiment the prominent
buildings, for example, the county courthouse, city hall, and any
medical facilities or schools in the path may be labeled to show
where the weather event is, or will be, in relation to that
building. FIG. 3E is a composite image depicting the termination of
the vector arrow 331 overlaid on the high resolution imagery of the
area affected by the weather event.
[0042] It should be noted that the various images, although
geographically referenced, may be of varying projections.
Therefore, it is necessary to resolve all of the component image
products to a consistent projection for the composite display.
[0043] In another embodiment, the composite image is processed
according to the steps shown in FIG. 2. A file representing a
graphic of topographic imagery of the area of interest is obtained
201. This is correlated with a high resolution photographic image
of the same area based upon corresponding geographic references
203. Roads, political boundaries, place names, communities and
certain buildings are labeled 205. Finally, weather symbology is
overlaid upon this image to form the final composite image 207.
Optionally, radar imagery may be incorporated into the image as
well.
[0044] A system 400 for implementing the above described processes
is shown in FIG. 4. Source data for the composite image arrives
from a source for high resolution photographic geographic imagery
410, a radar data source 420, a NFXRAD weather data source 430, and
a source of other weather data 440. The various source data are
input into a computer system 450 which is comprised of a processor
452 and a processor readable storage device, or memory 454. Memory
454 may be configured to store a database 456, and associated
control logic which configures computer system 450 to perform the
steps in the inventive process. The various image products are
output to display 460. Optionally, the image products may be output
to a distribution system 470 for distributing the image products to
remote displays (not shown) either wirelessly, over land lines or
both. Database may store, among other things, place names
associated with geographic references, road labels, political
boundary position information, and the like.
[0045] A computer system 450 could include, for example, one or
more processors 452 that are connected to a communication bus.
Memory 454 may also include a main memory, preferably a random
access memory (RAM), and can also include a secondary memory. The
secondary memory can include, for example, a hard disk drive and/or
a removable storage drive. the removable storage drive reads from
and/or writes to a removable storage unit in a well-known manner.
The removable storage unit, represents a floppy disk, magnetic
tape, optical disk, and the like, which is read by and written to
by the removable storage drive. The removable storage unit includes
a processor readable storage medium having stored therein computer
software and/or data.
[0046] The secondary memory can include other similar means for
allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into
the computer system. Such means can include, for example, a
removable storage unit and an interface. Examples of such can
include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that
found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an
EPROM, or PROM) and associated socket, and other removable storage
units and interfaces which allow software and data to be
transferred from the removable storage unit to the computer
system.
[0047] Computer programs (also called computer control logic) are
stored in the main memory and/or secondary memory. Computer
programs can also be received via the communications interface.
Such computer programs, when executed, enable the computer system
to perform certain features of the present invention as discussed
herein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed, enable
a control processor to perform and/or cause the performance of
features of the present invention. Accordingly, such computer
programs represent controllers of the computer system of a
transceiver.
[0048] In an embodiment where the invention is implemented using
software, the software can be stored in a computer program product
and loaded into the computer system using the removable storage
drive, the memory chips or the communications interface, The
control logic (software), when executed by a control processor,
causes the control processor to perform certain functions of the
invention as described herein.
[0049] In another embodiment, features of the invention could be
implemented primarily in hardware using, for example, hardware
components such as application specific integrated circuits (AS
ICs) or field-programable gated arrays (FPGAs). Implementation of
the hardware state machine so as to perform the functions described
herein will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s).
In yet another embodiment, features of the invention can be
implemented using a combination of both hardware and software.
[0050] As described above and shown or described in the associated
illustrative files, the present application discloses a method for
displaying weather-related symbols on high-resolution images and
computer system for execution thereof.
[0051] As discussed above, one particular example of weather event
symbology that can be displayed is a SCIT. A SCIT normally includes
a reference point indicating the geographic location of a storm
cell (in real time, or near real time), and a vector, extending
therefrom, indicating the predicted direction of storm movement and
speed of advance. In this context, a SCIT is referred to as any
predicted "storm track," or "storm path," including but not limited
to storm tracks manually created, based on the National Weather
Service data, or described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,670,908, previously
incorporated herein by reference. The system may also generate a
fan, or boundary area, using methods well known in the art, that
encompasses the reference point and vector to show an area in which
the storm may move or otherwise affect. Unfortunately, in order to
show a full storm track showing predicted position in the future,
the system view has to "zoom out" to a relatively large geographic
area. As best understood with respect to FIG. 2A, as the size of
the geographic area depicted increases, the level of detail of the
geographic area decreases. For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, only
major highways and county lines are depicted. Even when the system
"zooms in", but still displays the entire storm track (see FIG.
3B), details of the geographic area affected by the storm track are
still not readily discernible. With less detail, for example, lack
of local streets and landmarks, the viewers may still have a
difficult time appreciating the danger represented by the storm,
and whether it will affect their specific location.
[0052] Thus, to overcome this limitation, the present invention
allows a user to automatically pan over the storm track in a
"zoomed-in" display, i.e., view a "fly-by" of the storm track
vector advancing in time. As depicted in successive images FIGS.
3C, 3D and 3E, the system allows the user to "travel" along the
storm track from the latest, or most current position (FIG. 3C) to
the termination of the storm track (FIG. 3F), i.e., follow the
storm track advancing in time. As depicted in these figures, the
system can be configured to zoom in to view only small portions of
the overall storm track at any one time, enabling the localized
buildings, schools, city streets, landmarks, and the like to become
more perceptible and understandable.
[0053] As depicted in FIGS. 3C, 3D, and 3E, and as discussed above,
because the storm track vector is a representation of the storm's
speed of advance, the estimated arrival times of the weather event
at a particular location can be displayed as the system pans over
the storm track. In one embodiment, as depicted in FIGS. 5A, 5B,
and 5C, the time of arrival at a particular location on the storm
track is displayed on the storm track itself, or in close proximity
thereto, as the system pans through that point along the storm
track (i.e., during the "fly-by").
[0054] FIG. 5A depicts a portion of a storm track near
Indianapolis, Ind., and the expected location of a storm at 7:03.
FIGS 5B and 5C depict successive screen shots as the system pans
through the storm track, and the expected location of the storm at
7:08 and 7:13,respectively. As can be appreciated, the system can
display a running clock and/or a visual indicator on the storm
track so the expected location of the storm can be constantly
displayed as the system pans over the entire storm track.
[0055] For example, if the current time is 6:58 and the current
location of the storm is displayed, as the system pans over the
expected storm track, the clock will run as the storm track is
followed to its expected future positions, i.e., the expected
location at 6:59, 7:00, 7:01, etc. The system can also be
configured to display the arrival times in seconds.
[0056] As depicted in FIGS. 3B, and FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C, and as
discussed above, roads, political boundaries, place-names,
communities, and buildings (for example, schools, hospitals, and
government buildings) can be labeled and displayed. The system may
be configured to automatically display these landmarks, or display
them upon some user input, for example, a user clicking on a street
to display the name using a manual input device, for example a
computer mouse.
[0057] In one embodiment, as the system pans along the storm track,
roads, political boundaries, place-names, communities, and
buildings in close proximity to the storm track will be
automatically displayed, for example, displaying roads names when
the storm track crosses a particular road, or displaying a building
name when the storm track is within some default distance, for
example, 0.25 miles. The system may also be configured to pause at
certain intervals (for example, every five minutes) or at certain
locations (for example, when a road name or other landmark name is
displayed) while it pans over the storm track, As discussed above,
radar imagery may be incorporated into the display as well.
[0058] While the preferred embodiment includes display of high
resolution images in connection with the storm track display, other
topographic imagery of an area of interest can also be used. In
this alternative embodiment, the topographic imagery map simply
displays the traditional roads, political boundaries, rivers/lakes,
and the like, but without the high resolution photographic images.
The panning over the storm track, advancing in time, is
substantially the same, with only the underlying geographical
display being different.
[0059] While particular embodiments of the invention have been
described, it will be understood, however, that the invention is
not limited thereto, since modifications may be made by those
skilled in the art, particularly in light of the foregoing
teachings. It will be, therefore, contemplated by any claims in an
ensuing non-provisional application claiming priority to this
document to cover any such modifications that incorporate those
features or those improvements that embody the spirit and scope of
the present invention.
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