We propose a novel technique based on the quantitative detection of rain intensity from images, i.e., from pictures taken in rainy conditions. The method is fully analytical and based on the fundamentals of camera optics. A rigorous statistical framing of the technique allows one to obtain the rain rate estimates in terms of expected values and associated uncertainty. We show that the method can be profitably applied to real rain events, and we obtain promising results with errors of the order of 625%. A precise quantification of the method’s accuracy will require a more systematic and long-term comparison with benchmark measures. The significant step forward with respect to standard rain gauges resides in the possibility to retrieve measures at very high temporal resolution (e.g., 30 measures per minute) at a very low cost. Perspective applications include the possibility to dramatically increase the spatial density of rain observations by exporting the technique to crowdsourced pictures of rain acquired with cameras and smartphones.

Toward the camera rain gauge / Allamano, Paola; Croci, Alberto; Laio, Francesco. - In: WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH. - ISSN 0043-1397. - STAMPA. - 51:3(2015), pp. 1744-1757. [10.1002/2014WR016298]

Toward the camera rain gauge

ALLAMANO, PAOLA;CROCI, ALBERTO;LAIO, FRANCESCO
2015

Abstract

We propose a novel technique based on the quantitative detection of rain intensity from images, i.e., from pictures taken in rainy conditions. The method is fully analytical and based on the fundamentals of camera optics. A rigorous statistical framing of the technique allows one to obtain the rain rate estimates in terms of expected values and associated uncertainty. We show that the method can be profitably applied to real rain events, and we obtain promising results with errors of the order of 625%. A precise quantification of the method’s accuracy will require a more systematic and long-term comparison with benchmark measures. The significant step forward with respect to standard rain gauges resides in the possibility to retrieve measures at very high temporal resolution (e.g., 30 measures per minute) at a very low cost. Perspective applications include the possibility to dramatically increase the spatial density of rain observations by exporting the technique to crowdsourced pictures of rain acquired with cameras and smartphones.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11583/2626751
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