# Presentation: 941700

_**What is IV-ROCS?**_** **

**A new way for Coop Observers to send their weather observations to the National Weather Service**
**A toll free number is used to call the IV-ROCS system.  At the prompt the Coop Observer is asked to enter their unique  Coop Station Number on the phone keypad**

## IV-ROCS Project Goals

- Improve data quality
- Observer verifies data when entered
- Automated initial quality control
- Provide user friendly system
- Observer responds to a voice prompt
- No codes for the observer to learn
- Reduce time spent training new observers

## More IV-ROCS Project Goals

**Integrate observer data collection system with centralized CSSA metadata database**
**Increase data integrity**
**Provide short term data archive functionality**
**Provide a complimentary technology to WxCoder**
**Enable us to retire “ROSA”**

## Near Future Goals

**Remove requirements for observer to mail B-91 or B-92 at the end of month (Postage Savings ~$50K/yr.  National  Weather Service wide)**
**Integrate IV-ROCS and WxCoder ingest to a single, shared database**

## Coop Observer Automated Data Collection System History

**R**emote **O**bservation **S**ystem **A**utomation (ROSA) was developed in the early 1980’s by CR’s Warren Sunkel to allow automated ingest of volunteer observer data
- Excellent system for it’s time, but new technology is now available
- In early 1990’s ROSA was upgraded to PC-ROSA when the software was converted from RDOS on a Data General system to a PC based operating system.
- SR developed and used the Automated Touch Tone Data Collection System (ATTDCS) prior to switching to PC-ROSA in 1997.

## PC-ROSA Code

- For an observer to report a max temp of 80°, min temp of 65°, with an at-ob temp of 70° along with rainfall amount of .25 inches they would have to enter...

## PC-ROSA Code

**##290199#12210800#2280#2365#**
**2170#100*25#9903##**
**The Coop Station number is 29-0199, date is Dec 21 and observation time is 8am.  This station is in climate division 03 of New Mexico.**

## PC-ROSA Shortcomings

- Observer must learn to “code” the data
- No QC - only the format is checked
- Any error in the format of the coded message and the entire observation is lost
- Once data is transferred to AWIPS no electronic archive is available
- Hardware is old and no longer available
- Warren Sunkel is retired and won’t answer his phone!

## IV-ROCS  Hardware

**Primary (Climo) and Backup (Hydro)  Compaq ProLiant 1.4 GHz servers running Windows 2000 Server.  Each with 16 gigabyte HD.**
**Each server has a 12 port Dialogic voice processing card**
**48 telephone lines – 1-877-CoopObs rolls over to other numbers.  Cost of Phone lines paid by OS7.**

## IV-ROCS Communications

**The system uses WFO SHV LDAD to ingest the data**
**SHEF encoded messages transmitted using the RR3 PIL’s**
**Timing of the transmission is adjustable by the system administrator set initially to 30 min.**
**A collective of all submitted observations will be developed each midnight and put on SRH public FTP server for NCDC and RCC’s**

## IV-ROCS - How it works

- Observer calls 1-877-COOP-OBS (266-7627)
- Voice script prompts to use English or Spanish
- Then asks to enter station number
- Observer uses telephone key pad to enter the 6 digit coop station number

## IV-ROCS - How it works

- Computer voice reads back entered value and asks for verification
- Observer enters 1 for yes or 2 for no
- if 1 the system goes to the next step
- if 2 the system allows the Observers to re-enter the data/information.

## IV-ROCS - How it works

- System queries CSSA database to determine observed weather elements for the station
- Max, Min and At Observation temperatures
- Precipitation – all nine types
- Evaporation
- Soil Temperature
- System will only ask for data the observer collects

## IV-ROCS - Temperature

- Computer voice asks for **At-Ob** temperature
- Observer enters data with telephone key pad
- Computer voice repeats values entered and asks for verification
- Observer enters 1 for correct or 2 to re-enter
- Automated quality control:
- must be equal to or less than maximum
- must be equal to or higher than minimum

## IV-ROCS - Temperature (Cont’d)

- Computer voice asks for the **Maximum** temperature
- Observer enters data with telephone key pad
- Computer voice repeats entered values and asks for verification
- Observer enters 1 for correct or 2 to re-enter
- Computer based quality control
- checks that value is at or below PROGRAMMABLE limit

## IV-ROCS - Temperature (Cont’d)

- Computer voice asks for **Minimum** temperature
- Observer enters data with telephone key pad
- Computer voice repeats entered values and asks for verification
- Observer enters 1 for correct or 2 to re-enter Computer based quality control
- checks that value is at or above PROGRAMMABLE limit

## IV-ROCS - Other Elements

- Liquid Precipitation, Frozen Precipitation, Evaporation, River Stage, and Soil Temperature all follow standard format:
- Computer voice asks for the data
- Observer enters the value with the key pad
- Computer voice asks for verification
- System performs quality control procedures

## IV-ROCS - Rules

- Temperature rules are:
- Temperatures above adjustable thresholds must be confirmed as extreme events
- The maximum must be equal to or higher than the previous day and today's At Ob Temperature
- The minimum must be equal to or lower than the previous day and today's At Ob Temperature

## IVR-ROCS - More Rules

- Precipitation rules are:
- Liquid precipitation amounts are reported to the hundredth of an inch
- must enter a precipitation value before entering snowfall report
- must report snow depth each day until value reaches zero
- snowfall is reported to the nearest tenth of an inch
- snow depth is reported to the nearest inch

## IV-ROCS - Precipitation

- Computer voice asks observer if there is any precipitation to report
- Observer enters 1 for yes or 2 for no
- if 1 the system will ask for precipitation values
- if 2 the system goes to next element
- Computer voice asks for amount of precipitation
- Observer enters data with telephone key pad

## IV-ROCS - Precipitation – Cont’d

- Computer voice reads entered value and asks for verification
- Observer enters 1 for yes or 2 for no
- if 1 the system goes to the next step.
- if 2 the system asks for the precipitation again
- Computer based quality control
- checks that value does not exceed “extreme” event criteria
- if greater than extreme criteria the observer must verify the extreme event

## IV-ROCS - Precipitation – Cont’d

- Computer voice asks if there is any snow information to report
- Verifies that previous day snow depth was zero or, if snow depth was reported on previous day, a snow depth value must be entered on today’s report until snow depth value equals zero
- Observer enters 1 for yes or 2 for no
- if 1 the system will ask for snowfall values
- if 2 the system goes to next element
- Computer voice asks for amount of snowfall
- Observer enters data with telephone key pad

## IV-ROCS - Precipitation – Cont’d

- Computer voice reads entered value and asks for verification
- Observer enters 1 for yes or 2 for no
- if 1the system goes to the next step
- if 2 the system asks for the snowfall again
- Computer based quality control
- checks that value does not exceed “extreme” event criteria
- if greater than extreme criteria the observer must double verify the entry

## IVR-ROCS - More Rules

- Air temperature for period must all be above freezing before an evaporation observation can be submitted.  The system will not accept evap. data if freezing temperatures were reported
- Observer must verify all “extreme” values.  These values are adjustable, by site, by the system administrator

## IV-ROCS - Special Features

- Key Ahead Feature – Allows observer to key ahead as they becomes familiar with the voice menus
- Coop Observer is able to send message to NWSREP.....”CALL ME”!
- System Performance Reporting
- Call Summary
- Call Details
- Port Usage

## IV-ROCS Accomplishments

- Simple to use system that improves data quality, reliability, availability, reduces time spent by WFO and RFC resources to quality control observations, and requires very little system administration.

## IV-ROCS Accomplishments

- Provides near real time coop observations to WFO, RFC, and other internal customers
- Provides single source of daily Coop data to NCDC, Regional Climate Centers, and other external customers

## The Perfect Marriage!

**The Perfect Marriage!**

**IV-ROCS**

**WxCoder**

- IV-ROCS hosted by SR, WxCoder by CR.  Redundancy is planned with both systems being hosted by SR and CR.
- Shared Database
- An Observer using WxCoder can use IV-ROCS as their backup system

## The End!

**The End!**