Abstract:
Apparatus and method is provided for 3-D measurement and visualization of cloud formations using ceilometers and computer software. Data collected from the ceilometers contains cloud range information in polar coordinates (r,θ,π) which is then converted to a cloud height depiction in a 3-D space. Visualization of data is enhanced by animating consecutive sets of data in a time loop to show the movement and evolution of the clouds over the measurement site during an extended period of time.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/181,557, filed Feb. 10, 2000. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to methods for determining cloud heights within a three-dimensional space.  
           [0003]    Safety is a primary concern in the aviation industry. Unanticipated or unmeasured weather conditions can pose a threat to flight safety; accurate and appropriate weather information, particularly at airports, is therefore very important to pilots and to the air traffic control system. Visibility and ceiling information are of primary importance.  
           [0004]    Ceiling is defined as the height above the ground from which prominent objects on the ground can be seen and identified or as the height above the ground of the base of the lowest layer of clouds when over half of the sky is obscured.  
           [0005]    Ceilometers are devices designed to measure cloud height generally along a single dimension vertical line above the instrument. Common units use eye-safe pulsed diode lasers operating as LIDAR (light detection and ranging) devices. The outgoing laser beam is scattered by water droplets, and the backscattered beam is detected and analyzed by the ceilometer to determine characteristics of the scatterers (i.e., opaque or translucent clouds) and the range (derived from the transit time of the light beam).  
           [0006]    The National Weather Service has installed Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) at 900 airports. The ASOS system measure winds, temperature, dew point, pressure, visibility, rain, and ceiling or cloud height as a stand-alone automated system. This system provides weather data in METAR code for meteorologists and others within the aviation industry.  
           [0007]    A significant limitation of the ASOS system is that cloud height data is one-dimensional because cloud height information is only measured along a single vertical path above the instrument. The standard instrument used in this application is the Vaisala CT-12K Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) ceilometer, which has a range of approximately 12,000 feet. Currently, the National Weather Service is upgrading from the CT-12K to the CT-25K ceilometer, which has a range of approximately 25,000 feet.  
           [0008]    As part of this upgrade, the National Weather Service is interested in providing more information on ceilings and in providing data acquisition that will more adequately describe cloud heights over a larger area. Improving this technology to provide more information is a continuing effort.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The invention provides ceiling information in three dimensions, which covers all areas of a major airport, and which provides significant improvements over existing systems.  
           [0010]    The present invention provides a method of 3-D measurement and visualization of cloud formations using a ceilometer and computer software. Data collected from the ceilometer contains cloud range information in polar coordinates (r,θ,π) which is then converted to a cloud height depiction in a 3-D space. Visualization of data is enhanced by animating consecutive sets of data in a time loop to show the movement and evolution of the clouds over the measurement site during an extended period of time.  
           [0011]    The omni-directional platform described herein includes physical hardware and motion control computer hardware and software. The invention is produced for potential application to both the Vaisala CT-25K and the CT-75K ceilometers, as well as ceilometers from other manufacturers. The CT-75K has an approximate range of 75,000 feet and utilizes an array of four CT-25K ceilometers housed in a single enclosure and operating in parallel.  
           [0012]    Pointing hardware can be either a combination of servo motors and gears that physically control the orientation of the ceilometer, or a scanning mirror configuration where servo motors control a gimballed mirror that reflects the ceilometer output and return at specified angles.  
           [0013]    The data acquisition and control system of the present invention controls the motion of the ceilometer or mirror and acquires data from the units. Running on a personal computer or on an embedded system, motion control and data acquisition routines command motion control boards and data acquisition boards connected to the computer&#39;s motherboard.  
           [0014]    Conventional use of the CT-25K system for measurement of cloud height produces only a single reading at any instant in time. The present invention provides utilization of the instrument in a scanning mode and provides processing and display of the data in three dimensions. The Interactive Data Language (IDL®) developed by Research Systems, Inc. (RSI) was selected for this purpose. IDL has an array-oriented architecture specially developed for handling large amounts of complex data and has been widely used in a variety of applications including meteorology, astronomy, and fluid dynamics. IDL&#39;s ability to manipulate and display three-dimensional images is especially notable.  
           [0015]    For 3-D displays of the cloud hit data, it is necessary to create a 3-D data-element representation that reflects the spatial resolution of the measurement. Cloud ceiling height measurements are performed with constant elevational and azimuthal increments.  
           [0016]    Once the 3-D model is created, it is manipulated to produce views from anywhere in the field, or to provide “fly-by” simulations. Additionally, multiple data sets are incorporated into a movie format for temporal data visualization.  
           [0017]    Elevation angles are measured with a mechanical inclinometer, with a measurement precision of +/−0.5 degrees. Azimuth angles are determined from compass measurements, pointing markers or sensors on the pedestal base and fixed reference indicators.  
           [0018]    The present invention employs a new version of the Vaisala system, the CT-75k, which has a range of 75,000 feet. Coupling this device with an Az-El (azimuth/elevation) scanning system allows probing the atmosphere in three dimensions around the device location to a range of nearly 15 miles. The data output from the ceilometer is processed by a computer along with elevation and azimuth angles from shaft encoders on the scanning mechanism to produce a true three dimensional set of data for the scanned volume.  
           [0019]    Scanning methods of the Omni-Directional Cloud Height Indicator include pointing the entire LIDAR unit or employing rotating mirrors to deflect the laser beam throughout the probed volume.  
           [0020]    The rotating mirror version utilizes a LIDAR ceilometer that is permanently mounted to a pedestal with the output window facing below the horizon. A two-axis pan/tilt scanning mirror system is mounted to the output end of the ceilometer. The pan/tilt mirror is mechanically rotated in two axes using a pair of stepper motors. Accurate microstepping is accomplished using a stepper-motor controller/driver electronics card with 16-bit precision. The micro-stepping feature enables 10-arcminute incremental positioning of the pan/tilt mirror. Each step corresponds to 10-arcminutes of mirror motion and therefore a 20-arcminute angular deviation of the optical axis. Mirror movement provides for 170 degrees of deflection, of the optical axis, in one axis and 110 degrees in the second axis.  
           [0021]    A three-dimensional, cloud height model is generated by scanning through a solid angle using the mirror pan/tilt scanning system. At each location in the scan matrix, cloud height information is calculated by the ceilometer. The scan mirror contains a highly reflective durable coating in accordance with Military-Specification Mil-C-48497. The coated mirror surface defects shall not exceed a scratch-dig value of 80-50 and the surface figure shall not contain errors that exceed 0.001 inch/inch.  
           [0022]    The scanning mirror system is lightweight, low cost and eliminates the need to scan the large mass of the ceilometer system. An enclosure housing covers the mirror scanning mechanism and contains an optical window that transmits the laser beam. The enclosure protects the system and all moving parts from being exposed to adverse weather conditions.  
           [0023]    Besides the scanning function, the platform determines the pointing angles, both elevation and azimuth, of the LIDAR beam. Devices such as shaft encoders are employed on both axes to provide the required pointing information. Pointing information is sent to the computer along with the LIDAR backscatter data.  
           [0024]    To obtain the maximum range of the LIDAR, the dwell time per unit data is 15 seconds. Depending upon the density of data points desired (and thus the size of the angular steps in both elevation and azimuth), a scan of the hemisphere requires a significant amount of time (i.e., up to a few tens of minutes for 8 points per azimuth scan and 10 elevation angles). Thus, the data output for a complete scan of the hemispheric volume may be limited to several sets per hour. Alternatively, dwell time is reduced, or instruments are duplicated.  
           [0025]    The new ceilometer is capable of scanning in three dimensions to detect clouds within a range of 75,000 feet (about 15 miles), using a Vaisala CT-75k ceilometer, which has a nominal range of 75,000 feet. The ceilometer is operated on a scan and tilt platform to probe the atmosphere in a hemisphere above the ground plane. The cloud height (or range) data from the laser backscatter is analyzed and processed by a computer to convert range and angle measurements into a three dimensional plot of clouds within the probed volume.  
           [0026]    The ceilometer is used on a scan and tilt platform also to detect low clouds and fog near the horizontal plane.  
           [0027]    Available CT-25k ceilometers may be used. The CT-75k version increases the range of measurement from 25,000 feet (4.7 miles) to 75,000 feet (14.2 miles). The extended range plus the expansion of probed volume from a single dimension (fixed vertical beam) to the three dimension scan (probing the above-ground hemisphere) are major improvements over current cloud height measurements.  
           [0028]    These and further and other objects and features of the invention are apparent in the disclosure, which includes the above and ongoing written specification, with the claims and the drawings.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0029]    [0029]FIGS. 1A and 1B are front and side views of the ceilometer apparatus of the present invention in the direct-pointing configuration.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 1C illustrates the scanning mirror configuration of the present invention.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 2 illustrates the ceilometer scanning control and data acquisition PC application front panel.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate cloud measurement locations and corresponding sector representation.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIGS. 4A and 4B depict a plan view of spatial element representation of cloud-ceiling.  
         [0034]    FIGS.  5 A and SB depict wire frame and solid illustration of cloud-hit element for 3-D visualization.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 6 illustrates a 3-D cloud hit element placed in a measured position over simulated terrain.  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 7 graphically illustrates cloud height measurements versus radii at times 12:45, 12:56, and 13:07 for different ceilometer angles.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 8 graphically illustrates cloud height measurements versus radius at time 12:45, 12:56, 13:07 and 14:35 for different ceilometer angles.  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 9 graphically illustrates cloud height measurements versus azimuth angles from 45 degrees to 225 degrees between the times of 12:45 and 14:35.  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 10 graphically illustrates cloud height measurements versus azimuth angles from 45 degrees to 225 degrees at times 14:22 and 14:10.  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 11 shows a plan view of cloud heights at time 12:45.  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 12 shows a plan view of cloud heights at time 15:22.  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 13 shows a 3-D perspective view of cloud ceilings at time 12:45.  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 14 shows a 3-D perspective view of cloud ceilings at time 12:56.  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 15 shows a 3-D perspective view of cloud ceilings at time 13:07.  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 16 shows a 3-D perspective view of cloud ceilings at time 14:10.  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 17 shows a 3-D perspective view of cloud ceilings at time 14:22.  
         [0047]    [0047]FIG. 18 shows a 3-D perspective view of cloud ceilings at time 14:35.  
         [0048]    [0048]FIG. 19 graphically illustrates a vertical cross-section view of cloud ceilings at time 12:45. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0049]    [0049]FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate the omni-directional platform configuration of the new scanning ceilometer  1 . FIG. 1A is a front elevation; FIG. 1B is a side elevation. A ceilometer  15  is mounted on support arms  5  for universal movement. The ceilometer  15  may be a cluster of parallel or slightly angularly offset ceilometers, for example a group of four ceilometers. A servo motor  9  drives a 100:1 reduction gear  7  that rotates the ceilometer about its horizontal axis upon load bearings  3 . Load bearings  3  are installed on both sides of the support arms  5 , and a Bayside 100:1 gear reducer  7  is attached in-line along the shaft, which is connected to a Parker Compumotor® servo motor  9  that provides power to the shaft of the gear reducer  7 . The bottom of the support arm  5  is secured to a Bayside 100:1 right angle gear reducer  11 , with a turntable configuration that is driven by a Parker Compumotor® servo motor  9 . The lower servo motor and the gear reducer/turntable  11  are mounted on a platform base  13 . The server motors  9  are equipped with shaft encoders, enabling precise position measurement. A PC-based controller board interfaces with the motor amplifiers and shaft encoders to direct motion, to control the servo motors  9 , and to determine shaft positions. National Instruments® LabVIEW® software, running on the PC, is used to drive the controller board and to process position information as well as to perform data acquisition, analysis and communication. Features for the motion-control hardware are given in the Table 1, where T r  is rated output torque, T cs  is the rated continuous stall torque, T p  is the rated peak torque, Δθ e  is the encoder angular resolution, and Δθ c  is the controller position.  
                                     TABLE 1                           Omni-directional scanning platform motion-control component       feature listing                Planetary                   Planetary   Gear   Servo   Motor   Motion       Gear Reducer   Reducer   Motors   Driver   Control       (100:1)   (100:1)   (2)   (2)   Board               Tr = 1600 in-   Tr = 300 in-   T cs  = 5.75 lb-   Torque   PC-based       lbs.   lbs.   in   Mode PWM   1 to 4       Turntable       T p  = 28.75   Δθ c  = +/−2   axes       Output       lb-in   arc-min   12 bit               Δθ e  = 21.6       40 Mb               arc-min       memory                       5 kHz acq.                       Rate                  
 
         [0050]    [0050]FIG. 1C shows the ceilometer  61  in the scanning mirror configuration. A platform  63  with a gimballed-mirror assembly  65  is mounted at the end of the ceilometer  61 . The transmitted laser  67  beam reflects off of the mirror surface  69  toward the target area  71 . Backscattered light is in turn transmitted back to the mirror  69  from the cloud  71  and reflected to the ceilometer  61  for sensing. The mirror  69  is controlled using servo motors.  
         [0051]    [0051]FIG. 2 shows the front panel  22  of the data acquisition system  20  that controls both the motion of the ceilometer and acquire data from the unit. Preliminary data-acquisition software was developed using LabVIEW®, a product of National Instruments®. LabVIEW is an object oriented graphical programming language based on sub-codes written in C. Running from a PC, motion control and data acquisition routines command motion-control boards and data acquisition boards connected to the PC motherboard. The motion-control boards and the PC motherboard control servo motors  9 . Additional embodiments for client or server Internet communication, remote access of data, communication with other systems, printed reports, or integration of additional systems are also included. Up-down numerical input buttons  18  in the upper left panel  19  allow user inputs of angular increments and ranges for both azimuth and elevation. The status box  21  in the lower-left corner displays any errors associated with the LIDAR ceilometer unit and the motion control hardware or software. Data is displayed in the upper middle portion  17  of the screen  22  in numerical format, giving elevation, azimuth and range. A 3-D visualization  23  of the data and a landing approach cross-section  25  are presented in the right upper and middle portions of the screen  22 .  
         [0052]    [0052]FIGS. 3A and 3B show a measurement grid display for a particular elevation plane  31 . For a single-elevation cloud formation, shown in FIG. 3A, the scanning ceilometer  1  returns three-dimensional data corresponding to a level plane. The “X” marks  29  indicate where the LIDAR beam  27 , scanning with constant angular increments, would intersect the single-elevation cloud formation. Individual measurements represent sub-quadrant sectors  33  on a horizontal plane  31 , shown in FIG. 3B.  
         [0053]    [0053]FIG. 4A illustrates the divergence of the LIDAR beam  27  with distance from the origin  37 . This divergence causes the spatial measurement resolution to decrease with altitude. With this in mind, as shown in FIG. 4B, representation of the elemental data is made using sub-quadrant-shaped polygons  33  whose size is a function of the cloud ceiling height. The polygon object&#39;s dimensions were selected so that its size represented the spatial resolution of the measurement. The two diverging sides  47  are defined by the azimuthal measurement resolution. The inner arc  41  and outer arc  39  are defined as the midpoint radius between successive in-plane measurements  43  at a particular azimuth angle θ. Providing a nominal vertical thickness  35 , the sector can be represented as a solid object in 3-D.  
         [0054]    [0054]FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate the wireframe version  49  and the shaded version  51  of the cloud-hit element for 3-D visualization.  
         [0055]    [0055]FIG. 6 shows a display of the data in the context of the measurement by means of a 3-D model of the terrain  53 , created using a United States Geological Survey (USGS) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) grid and surface map of the area. The surface map is “stretched” over the surface grid rendering, creating a 3-D image of the terrain with surface features such as roads  55 . This display helps relate the data to actual position in the measurement volume. The 3-D wedge section  51  is then placed in the proper position and orientation to indicate the location of the cloud ceiling relative to the terrain  53 .  
         [0056]    [0056]FIG. 7 graphically depicts cloud heights measured by the apparatus at times 12:45, 12:56, and 13:07. This representation shows two distinct cloud layers centered at 4500 feet and 8000 feet above ground level (AGL). The reduced number of upper layer measurements is indicative of laser beam attenuation by intervening clouds.  
         [0057]    [0057]FIG. 8 graphically depicts cloud heights measured by the invention at times 12:45, 12:56, 13:07, and 14:35. Comparisons with FIG. 7 reveal movement at a later time (14:35) of a lower cloud deck into the area at 2000 feet AGL.  
         [0058]    [0058]FIG. 9 graphically depicts the same cloud data from FIG. 8 as “cloud hits” for heights versus azimuth. This figure more clearly shows that cloud layers extended over all the probed azimuths (from 45 degrees Northeast, to 225 degrees Southwest) in a fairly uniform pattern. The cloud layer near 4000 feet was detected in all directions during earlier measurement sequences. Later, at 14:35, the lower cloud deck (near 2000 feet) was also detected in all directions. Although the azimuthal pattern (or lack thereof) is discernable here, there is no indication of the horizontal extent of the clouds in a radial direction for any particular azimuth.  
         [0059]    [0059]FIG. 10 shows two data sets for intermediate times 14:10 and 14:22. The earlier data set indicates only a single cloud layer at 4000 to 5000 feet, while the later one shows both an upper layer between 4000 and 5000 feet and a lower layer with a base near 1000 feet in all probed directions. These two data sets demonstrate that a change in cloud levels at a low altitude (in this case, 1000 feet) may occur in less than the 10 minutes it took to complete one data. This is explained by the fact that a 30 degree elevation angle was used, thereby limiting the range of detection to 2000 feet horizontal range from the LIDAR. However, this horizontal range need not be a problem for an airport environment where there are no adjacent occupied structures that would preclude low angle scanning. Reducing the minimum elevation angle to 5 degrees would extend the horizontal range to about 11,000 feet for a layer at 1000 feet altitude.  
         [0060]    [0060]FIGS. 11 and 12 show plan view plots for times 12:45 and 15:22. These plots show the detected clouds overlaying a simple map of the actual area and centered upon the point where the data was collected. The view is looking down on the clouds and the terrain below from an overhead position. All clouds detected are shown as shaded crosses surrounding the LIDAR location, which is indicated by the thick vertical bar near the bottom center. In order to differentiate the cloud heights measured by the LIDAR, each cloud segment is shaded, or colored, in accordance with the altitude scale shown on the figure (note that in subsequent figures, the cloud altitudes are given in feet above sea level). This type of view has the advantage of a relatively clear representation of the cloud coverage over the XY horizontal plane. Colors, or shading in the data plots indicate the cloud height.  
         [0061]    [0061]FIGS. 13 through 18 illustrate perspective plots of cloud height data. These views present a more realistic look at the clouds as they would be seen by an observer near the LIDAR location but at an elevated position. To enhance the realism of this view, the cloud height data is overlaid on a contour map of the terrain. A comparison of these figures reveals some of the details observed with the passage of time. It is apparent that the coarseness of the spatial grid attained during this experiment precludes resolution of individual cloud edges and shapes, but it allows for observation of the general motion and progression of the clouds over time. Thus, a 3-D perspective view shows the radial extent, the azimuthal distribution, and the temporal evolution of the cloud field.  
         [0062]    [0062]FIG. 19 graphically depicts a vertical slice through the 3-D data in a plane from an observer looking towards one specific azimuth. In this example, only three cloud hits were measured and are represented by shading and text label. An advantage of this display is that the cloud heights along a particular path are seen from the side, clearly showing the relationship between the clouds and the ground. Such a display is an aid if one wants to project an aircraft&#39;s flight path against the measured clouds in a specified direction as a function of distance.  
         [0063]    While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, modifications and variations of the invention may be constructed without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the following claims.