KR101788219B1 - System and method for gathering weather information using vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a weather information collecting system using a vehicle, which comprises a vehicle that transmits driving information collected while the vehicle is traveling, a weather control server that analyzes weather information of the area where the vehicle is traveling, An information gathering system and method are provided.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a system and method for collecting weather information using a vehicle,

The present invention relates to a weather information collecting system and method using a vehicle, and provides a weather information collecting system and method capable of collecting current weather conditions from a vehicle that is running on the road.

In recent years, automobiles have become a necessity not only for industry but also for life, and there are attempts to utilize vehicles for various purposes instead of moving purposes.

This is because the vehicle is able to collect information about the area because it travels in various areas. As part of that attempt, there have been attempts to carry out weather observation using vehicles.

For this purpose, an attempt has been made to install a device for meteorological observations in a vehicle and to collect weather information from the devices in place. In other words, accurate and effective meteorological observations were conducted by collecting rainfall, humidity, temperature, fog, wind speed, and wind direction through a weather observation device of a moving vehicle.

Such a conventional technique requires a separate weather observation device to be attached to the vehicle, which causes a problem that weather information is collected only for a specific vehicle.

(Patent Document 1) Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2009-0007893 (Patent Document 2) Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2005-0029930 (Patent Document 3) Korean Patent No. 10-1408997

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is conceived to solve the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a weather-observation system, which is capable of collecting weather information of an area in which a vehicle is currently moving, The present invention provides a weather information collecting system and method using a vehicle that can collect real time weather conditions of each area using the collected information and provide the collected weather information to other vehicles.

The present invention relates to an image information collecting device for collecting image information, a wiper device for removing the material of the windshield of the vehicle, a position information collecting device for grasping the current position of the vehicle, A vehicle main control device for collecting information, a communication section for communicating with a vehicle and a vehicle including a wireless communication device for communicating with a weather control server, a vehicle operation information analyzing device for analyzing wiper operation information and position information in the vehicle operation information, A weather information reading unit for determining weather information for each region based on the information analyzed by the vehicle operation information analyzing unit and the image information analyzing unit, A server control unit for controlling the operation of the vehicle, and a server including an information storage unit for storing the respective information. Meteorological data collection system used.

The vehicle further includes a rain sensor for measuring the amount of rainwater.

The image information collecting apparatus includes a camera device capable of capturing an image of a surrounding area of the vehicle and collecting image information, and is characterized by using a black box camera system or an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) .

The vehicle operation information analyzing unit analyzes the provided wiper operation information, the rain sensor information, and the position information, and determines whether or not the wiper operation, the wiper operation speed, and the area where the vehicle travels and the amount of precipitation.

The weather information analyzing unit reads the provided image information and recognizes weather conditions, and the weather information reading unit collects weather information for each region using the information analyzed by the vehicle operation information analyzing unit and the image information analyzing unit, And the weather information is determined based on the information.

The method may further include collecting driving information of the vehicle including at least one of image information, position information, wiper operation information, and rainwater sensor information collected during operation of the vehicle according to the present invention and providing the information to a server, And collecting weather information for each region in which the vehicle is moving, using the analyzed information. The present invention also provides a method for collecting weather information using a vehicle.

The step of collecting the driving information of the vehicle includes the steps of: determining whether the vehicle is operating a wiper; determining whether a rainwater sensor is installed when the wiper is operated; Collecting the wiper operation information when the rainwater sensor is not mounted; collecting wiper operation information; if the wiper is not operating, determining whether image shooting information is periodically set Capturing a forward image, collecting captured image information, and providing the collected information to a weather control server using a wireless communication device.

And the wiper operation information is information on the operation speed of the wiper.

The step of collecting the driving information of the vehicle includes periodically capturing a forward image and providing the captured image to a weather control server.

The photographing of the forward image is performed when an emergency light is operated or a wiper of the vehicle is operated.

The step of collecting the weather information may include the steps of: confirming whether or not the wiper operation information is included in the vehicle driving information provided from the vehicle; checking if the wiper sensor information is included if the wiper operation information is included; A step of determining rainfall or snowfall using the rainwater sensor information of the driving area according to the position information when the rainwater sensor information is included; and if the information includes the wiper operation information, Determining a rainfall or a snowfall, reading weather conditions of a driving area according to the location information using the image information, storing the determined weather information, and providing the stored weather information to the vehicle in operation .

As described above, the present invention can grasp the weather of the operating area without using a separate weather observation device in the vehicle.

Further, it is possible to grasp the weather by using the information provided by the control server, and to provide it to the vehicle that is scheduled to be moved so as to be able to prepare for the weather condition.

In addition, it is possible to grasp weather information of a local area, which is difficult to provide weather information.

It also collects weather information at various locations and can monitor weather changes at specific locations. As a result, it can be used as an important element of future autonomous vehicle driving technology.

1 is a conceptual diagram of a weather information collecting system using a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a block diagram of a vehicle according to one embodiment;
3 is a block diagram of a weather control server according to an embodiment.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for collecting weather information using a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart for explaining vehicle operation according to an embodiment;
6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a weather control server according to an embodiment;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, It is provided to let you know. Wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

It is to be clarified that the division of components in this specification is merely a division by main function which each component is responsible for. That is, two or more constituent parts to be described below may be combined into one constituent part, or one constituent part may be divided into two or more functions according to functions that are more subdivided. In addition, each of the constituent units described below may additionally perform some or all of the functions of other constituent units in addition to the main functions of the constituent units themselves, and that some of the main functions, And may be carried out in a dedicated manner. Accordingly, the presence or absence of each component described in this specification should be interpreted as a function. For this reason, it is clear that the configuration of the components of the system and method for gathering weather information using the vehicle of the present invention can be varied within the scope of achieving the object of the present invention.

1 is a conceptual diagram of a weather information collecting system using a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram of a vehicle according to one embodiment.

3 is a block diagram of a weather control server according to an embodiment.

1 to 3, a weather information collecting system using a vehicle according to the present invention includes a vehicle 100 that transmits driving information collected during a vehicle operation, a vehicle 100 that analyzes driving information of the vehicle, And a weather control server 200 for reading the weather of an area.

Vehicle driving information of the current position is transmitted through the driving-related device mounted on the vehicle 100, and the weather information of the current position is determined by receiving it from the server, so that a device for additional weather observation is not added to the vehicle . In addition, it is difficult to determine the accurate weather of all the areas in real time by receiving weather information only from a vehicle equipped with a separate weather observation device, but it is possible to receive information from all vehicles in operation through the technique of the present invention Therefore, there is an advantage that accurate weather information of various regions can be confirmed.

The vehicle 100 of the present embodiment includes an image information collecting device 110 for collecting image information, a wiper device 120 for removing the material of the windshield of the vehicle 100, A vehicle main control device 140 for controlling the operation of each device and collecting the information, a wireless communication device 150 for communicating with the weather control server 200, .

In addition, the vehicle 100 may further include a rainwater sensor 160 for measuring the amount of rainwater.

The image information collecting device 110 includes a camera device capable of capturing an image of a surrounding area of the vehicle and collecting image information. For this purpose, in the present embodiment, it is preferable to use a black box which is mounted on a vehicle and collects image information by the image information collecting apparatus 110. That is, it is effective to use a black box camera system. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and various image information collecting apparatuses 110 may be used. It is also possible to use an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), which is currently mounted on a vehicle.

The front image information on the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling can be obtained through the image information collecting apparatus 110 as described above.

The wiper device 120 includes a wiper part located on the windshield of the vehicle and an operation control part for operating the wiper part.

The wiper device 120 is operated by a user or a separate sensor, that is, a rain sensor, and the wiper unit is operated by the operation control unit. At this time, the operation speed of the wiper part is adjusted according to the external weather condition.

It is possible to acquire wiper operation information and wiper operation speed information of the wiper operation control unit through the wiper device 120 of the present embodiment.

The present embodiment has a position information collecting device 130 for collecting position information of the area where the vehicle is currently moving.

It is preferable that a GPS device is used as the location information collecting device 130 as described above. Accordingly, it is possible to acquire accurate position information of the vehicle 100, and it is possible to predict the moving speed of the vehicle 100 as well as the area where the vehicle 100 will move in the future. The GPS device can be integrated with the black box of the vehicle 100, or integrated with navigation. Or integrated with the ADAS. Of course, it is also possible to collect information via a separate GPS device.

The rainwater sensor 160 mounted on the vehicle 100 of the present embodiment measures the amount of rainwater flowing on the vehicle surface, that is, the amount of precipitation. The wiper device 120 of the vehicle 100 can be operated in accordance with the rainfall amount information measured by the rainfall sensor 160.

Vehicle main control device 140 can control the operation of each device in vehicle 100 and can collect and analyze information from each device 100. [ In the present embodiment, the image information on the front of the vehicle, the wiper operation information, the rain sensor information, and the current position information of the vehicle are collected through CAN communication. A vehicle monitoring device such as OBD-II can be used as the vehicle main control device 140. [

The vehicle main controller 140 may collect image information and position information when the wiper is operated. Of course, it is also possible to collect image information and position information periodically. Of course, it is also possible to collect wiper operation information, image information, and position information based on rainwater sensor information. It is also possible to collect the information by the user's operation.

The information collected through the vehicle main control device 140 is transmitted to the weather control server 200 by the wireless communication device 150 in this manner.

The wireless communication apparatus 150 according to the present embodiment desirably uses an apparatus capable of long-distance wireless communication. The wireless communication device 150 is capable of performing 3G or LTE level communication. Accordingly, the wireless communication device 150 can provide driving information in the vehicle to the weather control server 200 or receive ambient weather information from the weather control server 200.

In the case of receiving the weather information, the weather information provided through the vehicle main control unit 140 may be provided to the driver of the vehicle 100 to induce safe driving.

The weather management server 200 of the present embodiment receives the above vehicle operation information from a plurality of vehicles, analyzes the information, and collects weather information for each region.

The weather control server 200 includes a communication unit 210 for communicating with the vehicle 100, a vehicle operation information analysis unit 220 for analyzing wiper operation information, rainwater sensor information, and position information in the driving information of the vehicle 100 A weather information analyzing unit 230 for analyzing image information among the driving information, a weather information analyzing unit 230 for analyzing weather information for determining weather information for each region based on the information analyzed by the vehicle operation information analyzing unit 220 and the image information analyzing unit 230, A server control unit 250 for controlling the operation of each unit, and an information storage unit 260 for storing the information.

The communication unit 210 performs communication with the wireless communication device 150 of a plurality of vehicles through wireless communication. Thus, the driving information of the vehicle can be collected. The collected vehicle driving information is stored in the information storage unit 260.

The vehicle operation information analyzing unit 220 analyzes the provided wiper operation information, the rain sensor information, and the position information to check whether the wiper operation, the wiper operation speed, and the area where the vehicle is traveling and the amount of precipitation / snowfall.

The image information analyzing unit 230 can recognize the weather condition by reading the provided image information. At this time, the weather is clear, cloudy, rain, snow, etc. can be read.

The weather information reading unit 240 collects weather information for each region by using the information analyzed by the vehicle operation information analyzing unit 220 and the image information analyzing unit 230 and determines weather information based on the collected information can do.

The weather information reading unit 240 can also control the operation of each device of the vehicle for reading weather information. For example, image information may be transmitted at predetermined intervals in order to periodically receive image information from the image information collecting device 130 of the vehicle in operation.

The weather information reading unit 240 can provide the weather information according to the read result to the vehicle 100. [ It is possible to accurately provide the real-time weather of the area where the vehicle 100 travels.

In the following, a method for collecting weather information using the weather information collecting system using the vehicle according to the present embodiment having the above-described structure will be described.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of collecting weather information using a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart for explaining vehicle operation according to an embodiment.

6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a weather control server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the operation of the weather control server will be mainly described.

As shown in FIG. 4, the weather information collection method using the vehicle 100 according to the present embodiment includes the steps of: acquiring weather information of a vehicle including at least one of image information, position information, wiper operation information, And receives driving information (S110).

The weather management server analyzes the provided vehicle driving information, collects weather information for each region in which the vehicle is moving using the analyzed information, and determines weather information based on the collected weather information (S120).

And provides the determined weather information to the vehicle in operation (S130).

The steps of receiving the vehicle driving information will be described in detail as follows. This explains the operation of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 5, it is determined whether the vehicle is operating a wiper (S210).

If the wiper operates, it is determined whether the rainwater sensor is installed (S220).

If the rainwater sensor is installed, the sensing result of the rainwater sensor is collected (S230).

At this time, the sensing result depends on the amount of rainwater.

If the rain sensor is not mounted, the wiper operation information is collected (S240).

The wiper operation information is preferably information on the operating speed of the wiper.

If the wiper operation information is not operated or if the wiper is not operated, it is determined whether the image shooting information is periodically set (S250). If the wiper operation is periodically set, the forward image is taken and the photographed image information is collected (S260).

Then, the collected information is provided to the weather control server using the wireless communication device (S270).

If the start of the vehicle is turned off, the above operation is terminated.

It is also possible to adjust the image capturing period of the vehicle when necessary.

Of course, the provision of the vehicle driving information of this embodiment is not limited to this, and it is possible to control it by various methods.

That is, it is possible to periodically capture the forward image of the vehicle driving information according to the driving of the vehicle and to provide it to the weather control server. At this time, the photographing period may be 1 second to 1 hour, depending on the setting. The present invention is not limited to this, and a forward image may be captured and provided only when the wiper of the vehicle operates. Or when the emergency light of the vehicle is operated, the forward image can be photographed and provided. This means that the vehicle will turn on emergency lights if the weather changes rapidly or there is a danger. For example, in a fog section, the vehicle lights an emergency light. Therefore, it is possible to photograph the forward image only in this section and provide it to the weather control server. It is also possible to photograph the forward image and provide it to the weather control server when the fog lights are turned on.

In the above-described case, it is possible to detect an event occurrence according to the vehicle operation, thereby photographing a forward image, providing the captured forward image, the wiper operation information, the rainwater sensor information, and the location information to the weather server .

A detailed description of the step of determining the weather information is as follows.

As shown in FIG. 6, the vehicle driving information provided from the vehicle is checked to check if the wiper operation information is included (S310).

If the wiper operation information is included, it is checked whether rainwater sensor information is included (S320).

If rainwater sensor information is included, rainfall or snowfall is determined using the rainwater sensor information of the driving area according to the location information (S330).

At this time, the rainfall amount or the rainfall amount is classified into three levels according to the intensity of rainwater sensor information and the medium rainfall. Precipitation / snowfall, and medium / small.

If the wiper operation information is included, the amount of rainfall or snowfall in the driving area is determined according to the position information (S340).

At this time, the operation speed, which is the wiper operation information, is classified into three levels, and the precipitation / snowfall amounts are classified into three levels, that is, large, medium, and small.

Next, the weather condition of the driving area according to the positional information is read using the image information (S350). It is possible to judge whether it is clear, cloudy, snow, rain or fog according to the read result. Here, the image analysis method can use an image analysis method such as HSL. Of course, it is also possible to analyze the weather information of a location transmitted through similarity analysis with the existing read image through image pattern analysis based on data collected from other vehicles. Of course, the collected image can improve the image recognition rate.

By this, weather information of the local area can be grasped, and weather information of various locations can be collected by analyzing and receiving information from various vehicles, and it is possible to monitor the weather change at a specific location.

Then, the weather information thus determined is stored, and the stored weather information is provided to the vehicle in operation so that the weather information of the area to be moved by the vehicle can be provided in advance, thereby leading to safe driving (S360).

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

100: vehicle 110: image information collecting device
120: wiper device 130: position information collecting device
140: vehicle main control device 150: wireless communication device
160: rainwater sensor 200: weather control server
210: communication unit 220: vehicle operation information analysis unit
230: image information analyzing unit 240: weather information reading unit
250: server control unit 260: information storage unit

Claims (11)

An image information collecting device for collecting image information;
A wiper device for removing the material of the windshield of the vehicle,
A position information collecting device for acquiring the current position of the vehicle,
A rainwater sensor for measuring the amount of rainwater,
A vehicle main control device for controlling the operation of each device and collecting information of these devices,
A vehicle including a wireless communication device that communicates with a weather control server; And
A communication unit for communicating with the vehicle;
A vehicle operation information analyzing unit for analyzing wiper operation information and position information among vehicle operation information,
An image information analyzing unit for analyzing image information among the driving information,
A weather information reading unit for determining regional weather information based on the information analyzed by the vehicle operation information analyzing unit and the image information analyzing unit,
A server control unit for controlling operations of the respective units;
And a server including an information storage unit for storing information,
A black box camera system or an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) is used as the image information collecting device,
The vehicle operation information analyzing unit analyzes the provided wiper operation information, the rain sensor information, and the position information to check whether the wiper operation, the wiper operation speed, and the area where the vehicle travels or the amount of precipitation,
The weather information analyzing unit reads the provided image information and recognizes weather conditions, and the weather information reading unit collects weather information for each region using the information analyzed by the vehicle operation information analyzing unit and the image information analyzing unit, A weather information collecting method using a weather information collecting system using a vehicle, characterized by determining weather information based on information,
Determining whether the vehicle main controller determines whether the vehicle is operating a wiper, determining whether the vehicle is in an emergency lighting state, and whether imaging information is periodically collected;
If it is judged that the wiper is operating, it is determined whether or not the rain sensor is installed. If the rain sensor is installed, the rain sensor information is collected as the sensing result of the rain sensor. When the rain sensor is not installed, The image information collecting device is operated to collect image information on the front of the vehicle, and when the emergency light of the vehicle lights up, the image information collecting device is operated to collect image information on the front of the vehicle. When the image photographing information is set to periodic collection, Collecting image information of a vehicle ahead and collecting position information of the vehicle;
The vehicle main control device providing the vehicle operation information including the collected rainfall sensor information, the wiper operation information, the image information, and the vehicle location information to the weather control server using the wireless communication device,
The weather control server verifies whether the vehicle operation information provided from the vehicle includes wiper operation information;
Checking whether rainwater sensor information is included if the wiper operation information is included;
If the rainwater sensor information is included, determining rainfall or snowfall using the rainwater sensor information of the driving area according to the location information;
If the wiper operation information is included, determining the amount of rainfall or snowfall in the driving area according to the position information;
If the rainwater sensor information and the wiper operation information are not included, the weather information of the operating area according to the location information is read using the image information, such as clearness, flow, snow, rain or fog, Analyzing the weather information according to the image information of the location transmitted through the similarity analysis with the captured image; And
Storing the weather information, and providing the stored weather information to the vehicle in operation.

delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete

Images