Weather confidence platform which improves short-term forecast accuracy by up to 50 percent launched in Vegas

Vaisala has launched the new Vaisala Xweather Insight weather confidence platform at Las Vegas’ CES 2024 exhibition, organised by the Consumer Technology Association. Xweather Insight offers a combination of Vaisala’s advanced measurement technology and expertise, proprietary Xweather data sets, and sophisticated artificial intelligence and machine learning into a software and sensor solution to enable organisations to improve safety, optimise their operations, accurately analyse risks, plan pre-emptively, and make informed decisions, thereby making an advantage, rather than a problem.

For industries that are dependant or sensitive to weather conditions, such as the renewable energy, utilities, mining, and maritime sectors, Xweather Insight provides the reliable and accurate measurements, forecasts, analysis, and alerts necessary to optimise daily operations, enhance readiness and resilience against extreme weather, while  safety, efficiency, and sustainability.

“Only Vaisala offers the combination of instruments and intelligence to solve businesses’ environmental challenges. With Xweather Insight, we have created a weather confidence platform that delivers actionable weather intelligence and insights for every business and organization affected by the weather,”

The Xweather Insight service is supported by Xcast, a machine learning-based weather prediction technology (MLWP) that significantly improves short-term forecast accuracy and supplies unique actionable insights with the use of local measurements and observations. Xcast-powered forecasts can provide up to 50% more accuracy than the short-term forecasts obtained by conventional numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. Additionally, Xcast lowers the number of large errors, over 2.5 °C, in 24-hour temperature forecasts by as much as 59% in many cases.

Xweather Insight has a set of three modules; with a flexible subscription model, organisations can mix and match modules as required to fit their specific needs.

The Protect module offers an unsurpassed severe weather monitoring and alerting solution. Airports, energy production and transmission, ports, and construction companies and other weather sensitive organisations can set up thunderstorm warning systems to keep people and property safe from the danger of lightning. This module is fully configurable to suit the end-user; Xweather Protect provides early warnings of approaching storms and the ‘all-clear’ when it is safe to resume operation.

If organisations need both macro and micro views of the weather and its impact, the Explore module offers an intuitive global map powered by the  most precise forecast and measurement data. The Explore has over 40 configurable weather and environmental data layers that highlight real-time weather impacts, along with a forecast that helps operators to take preventative measures against upcoming, climatic disruptions.

The Observe module provides a connection between the Xweather Insight platform to local sensors. Companies can monitor and analyse real-time observations and historical data, manage devices remotely, and integrate data into business applications and services. The Observe module uses Xcast to produce hyperlocal observation-enhanced forecasts that cannot be achieved with traditional numerical weather prediction (NWP) models.

Xweather Insight is offered as a subscription service that allows organisations of any size to configure the service to their criteria and is available as an API and as a web-based application. Future modules will add new capabilities including alert integration and triggers via the platform into business processes and applications.

“With this launch, Xweather Insight offers a comprehensive set of solutions for protecting and optimizing operations, analyzing risk, planning ahead, and making informed decisions. Weather is complex and ever-changing, but with Xweather Insight, every weather-sensitive industry can turn the weather to their advantage for confident operational decision making,” says Indrajit Chaudhuri, Chief Platform Officer for Vaisala Xweather.