Real-time computation of an atmospheric precipitation rate from a digital image of an environment where an atmospheric precipitation is taking place

A computer program product for atmospheric precipitation rate computation, the computer program product being embodied in non-transitory computer readable storage media and loadable in an electronic digital image processing apparatus (20) in an atmospheric precipitation rate computation system (1), the computer program product comprising instructions to:

• capture, in an electronic digital image/video capture apparatus (10), digital images/videos of an environment where an atmospheric precipitation is taking place;
• receive and process, by the electronic digital image processing apparatus (20) in communication with the electronic digital image/video capture apparatus (10), captured digital images/videos from the electronic digital image/video capture apparatus (10) to compute atmospheric precipitation rates of atmospheric precipitations which are taking place in the environments depicted in the received digital images/videos;
• and
• compute, by the electronic digital image processing apparatus (20), an atmospheric precipitation rate of an atmospheric precipitation which is taking place in an environment depicted in one captured digital image by:
• identifying atmospheric precipitation pixels in the captured digital image which represent precipitation elements;
• computing an atmospheric precipitation brightness in the captured digital image based on changes in brightness produced by the atmospheric precipitation at the identified atmospheric precipitation pixels with respect to a corresponding background brightness;
• and
• computing the atmospheric precipitation rate with the captured digital image based on the computed atmospheric precipitation brightness in the captured digital image and on a stored mathematical model that expresses atmospheric precipitation brightness in one digital image as a function of an atmospheric precipitation rate of an atmospheric precipitation that is taking place in an environment depicted in the one digital image.