Method and System for Providing a Realistic Environment for a Traffic Report
A method and system for providing a realistic environment for a traffic report is disclosed. The traffic report includes a 3D view of current traffic conditions for one or more roadways in and around a metropolitan area. The 3D view includes a background that reflects the current time of day and/or weather conditions. For example, a traffic report shown by a television station as part of the evening news may depict the background as having a dark sky and nighttime lighting, such as vehicle, building, and street lights. As another example, a traffic report shown by a television station as part of the noon news may depict the background as having overcast skies.
1 . A method for providing a realistic environment for a traffic report that includes a visual depiction of a geographical area including a portion of a road network located therein, comprising:
obtaining data regarding traffic conditions on at least one roadway in the portion of the road network;
selecting an environment for the geographic area depicted in the traffic report based on time of day; and
creating the traffic report including the visual depiction using the obtained data and the selected environment.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the environment includes selecting lighting of the environment based on the time of day.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the environment includes selecting color of the environment based on the time of day.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the environment includes an automatic selection of the environment.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the environment includes a user selecting the environment.
6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising adding graphics to the environment based on the time of day.
7 . A method for providing a realistic environment for a traffic report that includes a visual depiction of a geographical area including a portion of a road network located therein, comprising:
obtaining data regarding traffic conditions on at least one roadway in the portion of the road network;
selecting an environment for the geographic area depicted in the traffic report based on weather conditions; and
creating the traffic report including the visual depiction using the obtained data and the selected environment.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein selecting the environment includes selecting lighting of the environment based on the weather conditions.
9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein selecting the environment includes selecting color of the environment based on the weather conditions.
10 . The method of claim 7 , wherein selecting the environment includes an automatic selection of the environment.
11 . The method of claim 7 , wherein selecting the environment includes a user selecting the environment.
12 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising adding graphics to the environment based on the weather conditions.
13 . A system for providing a realistic environment for a traffic report that includes a visual depiction of a geographical area including a portion of a road network located therein, comprising:
a traffic data collection center that receives data regarding traffic conditions on at least one roadway in the portion of the road network and generates a traffic data output; and
a traffic report application that receives the traffic data output from the traffic data collection center, wherein the traffic report application selects a sky area appearance based on time of day and creates a traffic report including the visual depiction based on the traffic data output and the selected sky area appearance.
14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the traffic report application adds graphics to the traffic report based on the selected sky area appearance.
15 . A system for providing a realistic environment for a traffic report that includes a visual depiction of a geographical area including a portion of a road network located therein, comprising:
a traffic data collection center that receives data regarding traffic conditions on at least one roadway in the portion of the road network and generates a traffic data output; and
a traffic report application that receives the traffic data output from the traffic data collection center, wherein the traffic report application selects a sky area appearance based on weather conditions and creates a traffic report including the visual depiction based on the traffic data output and the selected sky area appearance.
16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the traffic report application adds graphics to the traffic report based on the selected sky area appearance.
17 . A method for providing a realistic environment for a traffic report that includes a visual depiction of a geographical area including a portion of a road network located therein, comprising:
identifying sky colors and light intensity that occur at different times of day and during different weather conditions;
creating a virtual environment for the geographical area that includes a sky area that contains at least some of the identified colors and light intensity; and
using the virtual environment in the traffic report including the visual depiction of the geographical area.
18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising adding graphics to the virtual environment based on at least one of time and weather.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the graphics include lighting used at nighttime and in stormy weather conditions.
20 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the graphics include objects located in the sky area.