Method, apparatus and computer program product for determining the presence of precipitation

A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code instructions stored therein, the computer-executable program code instructions comprising program code instructions to:

• receive at least one first audio signal from a first audio sensor of a vehicle;
• extract acoustical features comprising frequency and amplitude from the at least one first audio signal;
• receive at least one second audio signal from a second audio sensor of the vehicle;
• extract acoustical features comprising frequency and amplitude from the at least one second audio signal;
• process the frequency and amplitude from the at least one first audio signal and the frequency and amplitude from the at least one second audio signal as inputs to an algorithm to generate an output from the algorithm;
• determine, from the output of the algorithm, a precipitation condition and a confidence measure of the precipitation condition, wherein the confidence measure of the precipitation condition is determined based, at least in part, on a combination of the at least one first audio signal and the at least one second audio signal;
• cause validation of the output of the algorithm by comparison with at least one additional signal in response to the confidence measure failing to satisfy a predetermined level;
• and
• provide for a change in an operational state of the vehicle in response to the determination of the precipitation condition.

A method comprising:

• receiving at least one first audio signal from a first audio sensor of a vehicle;
• extracting acoustical features comprising frequency and amplitude from the at least one first audio signal;
• receiving at least one second audio signal from a second audio sensor of the vehicle;
• extracting acoustical features comprising frequency and amplitude from the at least one second audio signal;
• processing the frequency and amplitude from the at least one first audio signal and the frequency and amplitude from the at least one second audio signal as inputs to an algorithm to generate an output from the algorithm;
• determining, from the output of the algorithm, a precipitation condition and a confidence measure of the precipitation condition, wherein the confidence measure of the precipitation condition is determined based, at least in part, on a combination of the at least one first audio signal and the at least one second audio signal;
• causing validation of the output of the algorithm by comparison with at least one additional signal in response to the confidence measure failing to satisfy a predetermined level;
• and
• providing for a change in an operational state of the vehicle in response to the determination of the precipitation condition.