1. A weather station for monitoring weather conditions at at least one remote location comprising:
a detachable, portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable weather station unit situated at the at least one remote location including:
a microprocessor;
at least one data sensor coupled to the microprocessor for generating a data signal representative of weather conditions at the at least one remote location;
a transmitter coupled to the microprocessor for transmitting said data signal;
an antenna coupled to the transmitter, and
a detachable, portable, battery powered and hand holdable weather station receiver for receiving and displaying the weather conditions received from said weather station unit.
2. The weather station of claim 1 wherein the data sensor monitors the weather data and wherein the transmitter is configured to wirelessly transmit a data signal, said data signal being representative of the weather data monitored at the at least one location.
3. The weather station of claim 1 wherein the data sensor senses temperature.
4. The weather station of claim 1 wherein the data sensor senses wind speed.
5. The weather station of claim 1 wherein the data sensor senses rain.
6. The weather station of claim 1 wherein the data sensor senses barometric pressure.
7. The weather station of claim 1 wherein the data sensor senses ambient light.
8. The weather station of claim 1 wherein the data sensor senses static charge.
9. The weather station of claim 1 wherein the data sensor senses humidity.
10. The weather station of claim 1 wherein the receiver comprises an indicating circuit configured to indicate a temperature trend.
11. The weather station of claim 1 wherein the receiver further comprises an alarm configured to indicate an alarm condition responsive to a comparison of the data signal received by the receiver with a predetermined threshold value.
12. The weather station of claim 1 wherein the receiver further comprises an indicating circuit configured to indicate a signal strength of the data signal being received by the receiver.
13. The weather station of claim 1 wherein the receiver is configured to receive a telemetry signal from a NOAA weather radio.
14. The weather station of claim 1 further comprising an alarm.
15. The weather station of claim 14 wherein the alarm is triggered when a probability of a predetermined weather condition is detected.
16. A weather station for monitoring weather conditions at at least one remote location comprising:
a portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable weather station unit situated at the at least one remote location including:
a microprocessor;
at least one data sensor coupled to the microprocessor for sensing at least one weather condition and generating a data signal representative of the at least one weather condition condition at the at least one remote location;
a transmitter coupled to the at least one data sensor for transmitting said data signal; and
an antenna coupled to the transmitter,
a portable, battery powered and hand holdable receiver configured to receive the data signal comprising:
a storage device configured to store at least one of a plurality of measured remote weather conditions;
a processor configured to generate a prediction of a weather condition, the prediction being based on the data signal received by the receiver and at least one of the measured weather conditions stored in the storage device; and
an indicating circuit configured to indicate the prediction.
17. The weather station of claim 16 wherein the receiver further comprises an interface configured to receive a latitude coordinate.
18. The weather station of claim 16 wherein the receiver further comprises an interface configured to receive a longtitude coordinate.
19. The weather station of claim 16 wherein the receiver further comprises an interface configured to receive a geographic area latitude position.
20. The weather station of claim 16 wherein the receiver further comprises an interface configured to receive a geographic area longtitude position.
21. The weather station of claim 16 wherein the processor is coupled to the receiver and storage device and configured to generate a prediction of a potential remote weather condition, the prediction being based on the data signal received by the weather station receiver and at least one of the measured weather conditions compared to said stored data.
22. The weather station of claim 16 wherein the prediction of a weather condition is based on the received data signal and at least one of the measured weather conditions stored in the storage device.
23. The weather station of claim 16 wherein the indicating circuit is configured to indicate a temperature trend.
24. The weather station of claim 16 wherein the receiver further comprises an alarm configured to indicate an alarm condition responsive to a comparison of the data signal received by the receiver with a predetermined threshold value.
25. The weather station of claim 16 wherein the indicating circuit comprises a signal strength indicator configured to indicate a signal strength of the data signal being received by the receiver.
26. The weather station of claim 1 wherein the receiver is configured to receive a telemetry signal from a NOAA weather radio.
27. The weather station of claim 14 wherein the alarm is triggered when a predetermined weather condition is detected.
28. The weather station of claim 16 further comprising an alarm.
29. The weather station of claim 28 wherein the alarm is triggered when a predetermined weather condition is detected.
30. The weather station of claim 28 wherein the alarm is triggered when a probability of a predetermined weather condition is detected.
31. An apparatus comprising:
a readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable weather display unit including:
a first receiver configured for receiving data via a first radio frequency signal from a source;
a second receiver configured for receiving a second radio frequency signal from a cellular telephone network and compatible with an international cellular protocol, wherein the cellular telephone network is different than the source;
a display, including a prompt, and configured to display a date and a time;
a processing device configured for a) enabling display of information based on received data of at least one of the first radio frequency signal and the second radio frequency signal via the prompt, b) selecting between a first mode of operation that displays first weather conditions including temperature at a first location and a second mode of operation that displays second weather conditions at a second location different than the first location, c) and displaying a prediction of a future weather condition.
32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein displaying the prediction of a future weather condition occurs during the display of the first weather conditions.
33. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the prompt enables a location to be selected, the first weather conditions are weather conditions for the location, and at least one of the first weather conditions is based on the received data of the first radio frequency signal.
34. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the international cellular protocol operates about a fixed frequency.
35. The apparatus of claim 31, further comprising:
a readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable weather station unit including:
at least one data sensor for generating a data signal representative of weather conditions at the at least one remote location; and
a transmitter for transmitting said data signal via the first radio frequency signal.
36. A portable weather station comprising:
(a) a portable, battery powered sensor unit, said sensor unit comprising a hand-holdable housing on or in which is provided:
a sensor for detecting a local area weather condition;
sensor unit circuitry for periodically sampling and wirelessly transmitting digital data of the local area weather condition sensed by said sensor; and
a battery power source for powering said sensor unit circuitry; and
(b) a portable, battery-powered weather station receiver unit, for use with said sensor unit when positioned in a general local area of said sensor unit, said weather station receiver unit including a hand-holdable housing on or in which is provided:
first radio frequency receiving circuitry for receiving, from said portable, battery powered sensor unit, said periodically sampled and wirelessly transmitted digital data of said local area weather condition;
second radio frequency receiving circuitry for receiving a separate wireless transmission of further digital data transmitted by a remote source which is relatively remotely located in relation to said sensor unit and weather station receiver unit;
at least one data storage device;
at least one visual display, for displaying numeric and other information-conveying symbols or indications;
microprocessor circuitry coupled to the first and second receiving circuits and said at least one data storage device, for receiving said digital data of said local area weather condition and said further digital data, for storing, in said at least one data storage device, said digital data of said local weather condition and said further digital data, and for outputting to said at least one visual display information of said digital data of said local weather condition and said further digital data; and
a battery power source for powering said weather station receiver unit.
37. A portable weather station according to claim 36, wherein said separate wireless transmission receivable by said second radio frequency circuitry comprises a transmission over a wireless network.
38. A portable weather station according to claim 36, wherein said microprocessor circuitry is configured to receive and process weather related data from the separate wireless transmission using a protocol compatible with the transmission, and for selecting weather information from a selected region on the globe, the microprocessor being further configured to process encoded weather data.
39. A portable weather station according to claim 36, said weather station receiver unit further comprising a user interface for selecting a mode of operation from a plurality of modes of operation, each mode of operation in the plurality of modes of operation defining different operating characteristics for the weather station receiver unit.
40. An apparatus comprising:
a readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable weather display unit including:
a first receiver configured for receiving weather conditions from a weather station unit;
a second receiver configured for receiving a signal from a remote source that is different than the weather station unit;
a circuit configured for receiving data indicating presence of a user at the weather display unit;
a display; and
a processing device configured to:
receive the weather conditions from the first receiver,
receive data representative of the signal from the second receiver,
receive the data indicating presence of a user at the weather display unit,
based on the data indicating presence of a user at the weather display unit, determine that the weather display unit is to operate in a mode that displays the weather conditions, and
in response to the determination, display the weather conditions.
41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein display of a prediction of a future weather condition occurs during the display of the weather conditions.
42. The apparatus of claim 40, further comprising:
the weather station unit, wherein the weather station unit is configured to be readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable, and the weather station unit includes:
at least one data sensor for sensing the weather conditions; and
a transmitter for transmitting the weather conditions to the weather display unit via a digital signal.
43. An apparatus comprising:
a readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable weather display unit including:
a first receiver configured for receiving weather conditions from a weather station unit;
a second receiver configured for receiving a signal from a remote source that is different than the weather station unit;
a display including a prompt; and
a processing device configured to:
receive data representative of the signal from the second receiver,
receive data from a user of the weather display unit via the prompt, the received data indicating a selection of a location by the user;
identify the location based on the received data;
receive the weather conditions from the first receiver; and
display a weather prediction for the location based on the received weather conditions and the location.
44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the display of the weather prediction occurs during display of the weather conditions.
45. The apparatus of claim 43, further comprising:
the weather station unit, wherein the weather station unit is configured to be readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable, and the weather station unit includes:
at least one data sensor for sensing the weather conditions; and
a transmitter for transmitting the weather conditions to the weather display unit via a digital signal.
46. An apparatus comprising:
a readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable weather display unit including:
a first receiver configured for receiving weather conditions from a weather station unit;
a second receiver configured for receiving a signal from a remote source that is different than the weather station unit;
a display, including a prompt; and
a processing device configured to:
receive data representative of the signal from the second receiver,
receive the weather conditions from the first receiver,
receive location data, via the prompt, identifying a location,
subsequent to receiving the location data, receive historical weather condition data corresponding to the location,
determine a predicted weather condition by performing a correlation of the weather conditions and the historical weather data, and
display the predicted weather condition and one or more of the weather conditions.
47. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein displaying the predicted weather condition occurs during the display of the one or more of the weather conditions.
48. The apparatus of claim 46, further comprising:
the weather station unit, wherein the weather station unit is configured to be readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable, and the weather station unit includes:
at least one data sensor for sensing the weather conditions; and
a transmitter for transmitting the weather conditions to the weather display unit via a digital signal.
49. An apparatus comprising:
a readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable weather display unit including:
a first receiver configured for receiving weather conditions from a weather station unit, the weather conditions representing sensed weather conditions of a first location;
a second receiver configured for receiving a signal from a remote source that is different than the weather station unit;
a display;
a processing device configured to:
receive the weather conditions from the first receiver,
receive data representative of the signal from the second receiver,
select between a first mode of operation that displays the weather conditions received from the weather station unit and a second mode of operation that displays second weather conditions representative of conditions at a second location that is different than the first location, and
based on the selected mode of operation, display one or more weather conditions from at least one of the weather conditions received from the weather station unit and the second weather conditions.
50. An apparatus comprising:
a readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable unit comprising:
a first receiver configured for receiving data via a first radio frequency signal from a source;
a second receiver configured for receiving a second radio frequency signal from a cellular telephone network, wherein the cellular telephone network is different than the source;
a display configured to display a date and a time;
a processing device configured for a) enabling display of information based on received data of at least one of the first radio frequency signal and the second radio frequency signal, b) selecting between a first mode of operation that displays first weather conditions including temperature at a first location and a second mode of operation that displays second weather conditions at a second location different than the first location, c) and displaying a prediction of a future weather condition.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of representing a group of images, the method comprising determining the values of one or more dominant colours for the group of images and deriving a dominant colour representation expressing the group of images in terms of one or more of said dominant colour values, wherein at least some of the images in the group of images are represented by a respective dominant colour representation in terms of one or more dominant colour values for the image, where each of the dominant colour representations has one or more components including at least one dominant colour value, and a variance indicating colour distribution variance of the image with respect to the dominant colour value, the method comprising combining a plurality of said dominant colour representations or selecting one of the dominant colour representations as representative of the group.
2. A method of claim 1 where the components of the dominant colour representations comprise one or more of a weight indicating the influence of the dominant colour in the image, the number of dominant colours in the image, and spatial homogeneity of pixels corresponding to the dominant colors in the image.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising combining one or more components of the representations based on proximity of dominant colours in colour space.
4. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein one or more of the dominant colour values, variances and weights are combined.
5. A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the combining involves calculating a weighted average of the dominant colour values, variances and weights.
6. A method as claimed in claim 3 comprising combining, in a first stage, components for which the distance between the respective dominant colours satisfies a predetermined condition such as being less than a predetermined threshold, and combining other components in a second stage.
7. A method as claimed in claim 1, the method comprising combining a plurality of images in the imagepixel or colour spacehistogram domain or selecting one of the group of images as representative of the group, and determining the values of one or more dominant colours in the combined or selected image, to derive a dominant colour representation of the group of images in terms of one or more dominant colour values of the combined or selected image.
8. A method as claimed in claim 7 where the dominant colour representation has one or more components including at least one dominant colour value of the combined or selected image, and optionally for each dominant colour value, a variance indicating colour distribution variance with respect to the dominant colour value, a weight indicating the influence of the dominant colour in the combined or selected image, the number of dominant colours, and spatial homogeneity of pixels corresponding to the dominant colors in the combined or selected image.
9. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the step of combining the images involves calculating a sum, average, median or intersection of a plurality of images.
10. A method as claimed in claim 1 involving temporally or spatially subsampling the group of images.
11. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein images are omitted or included depending on their similarity to other images in the group.
12. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the sub-sampling involves the steps of claim 4.
13. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the selection of the representative image or dominant colour representation involves a comparison or test involving at least one other image or representation in the group.
14. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the image or representation that is closest to all other images or representation in or for the group is selected.
15. A descriptor for a group of images derived by a method according to claim 1.
16. A method of searching for a group of images, the method comprising comparing a query dominant colour descriptor with a plurality of descriptors according to claim 15 using a matching procedure, and selecting one or more group of images for which the matching procedure indicates the closest match or matches.
17. An apparatus adapted to implement a method according to claim 1 or claim 16.
18. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable process steps for implementing a method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 16.
19. A computer system programmed to operate according to a method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 16.