Abstract:
A system that determines the extent of damage on structures such as vehicle body panels. The system utilizes common computing devices such as a smartphone or tablet. The system compares captured images with database information and then provides a damage calculation.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/117,286, filed Feb. 17, 2015. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to systems and methods for calculating vehicle damage, documenting vehicle conditions, and insurance fraud mitigation. 
         [0004]    2. Background 
         [0005]    In the automobile industry, auto accidents are an unfortunate but everyday occurrence. Insurance companies, first responders such as police and fire department personnel, collision specialists, and tow truck drivers often require accurate documentation of damage to a vehicle. For example, automobile insurance companies would benefit from having accurate documentation, evidence, and damage calculations at the time of the accident, as such information would greatly reduce insurance fraud. Typically, insurance companies, collision specialists, automobile repair facilities, and damage appraisers must record damage by visual inspection and then documenting on paper or by entering into a computing device. However, such practice does not provide a detailed analysis of the structural damage to the vehicle, and is also ripe for insurance fraud. For example, there is a need in the auto insurance industry to prevent auto repair shops from fraudulently increasing the damages on a vehicle in an attempt to receive a higher settlement under the insurance policy. 
         [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,889,931 describes a vehicle inspection station that uses several cameras to capture images of a car. For detecting whether a car has damage, at least a portion of an image is compared with a previously stored image of the vehicle. However, the vehicle inspection station is not configured to assess the damage and/or provide an estimate for the repair of the damage. It also requires that the vehicle be brought to the station. 
         [0007]    US2014/0201022 describes a system that determines an estimate of damage to a surface area of a vehicle. However, this system relies on a device that emits light beams and relies on three-dimensional analysis. This system also relies on triangulation transformation techniques. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    A system that determines the extent of damage on structures such as vehicle body panels. The system utilizes common computing devices such as a smartphone or tablet. The system compares captured images with database information and then provides a damage calculation. The present invention reduces the possibility of fraud, which is known to be a prevalent problem within the auto insurance industry. The present invention prevents this type of fraud because the user can document damage at the time of the accident for increased transparency throughout the claims process. The adjuster, during his/her inspection of the vehicle, can access the damage information documented by the user at the time of the accident. This allows the adjuster to confirm that additional damages are not present on the vehicle, providing an indication that fraud has occurred. Similarly, car rental companies can document current damage conditions prior to the rental, and then compare with damage conditions after the rental is completed. This invention allows for before and after digital comparisons useful in for example insurance claims and car rentals, where vehicle walk-arounds have traditionally been done by visual inspection and pen and paper documentation. In addition, parking garage facilities can use the present invention to document and image the vehicle condition before and after parking. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a flow diagram of the system. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is an image of a body panel with damage. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0011]    The system includes an image capturing device, such as a camera, smartphone, or tablet. The image capturing device is connected, either wired or wirelessly, to a processor. The processor is connected to one or more storage devices. The storage devices contain one or more databases of information such as vehicle information, structure information, CAD files of vehicle body panels, etc. The processor and storage device may be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor or the storage device may be in the “cloud” i.e. processed or stored on a remote server. These components are hereinafter referred to as a “device,” and components may be connected wired or wirelessly. A device can ideally be a smart device such as an Apple iPhone, Apple iPad or Android-powered device, as is known in the art. The device is utilized to determine damage to an object, which may be, for example, a car, an automobile, a truck, a motorbike, an airplane, a boat, a ship, or a building. The damage may include dents, scratches, deviations of shut lines, and other anomalies. 
         [0012]    Using the device to capture and document damage, damage information is digitally recorded. The damage information can be uploaded to a database and matched with a particular vehicle identification number (VIN). This real-time information can be collected and stored as vehicle history information. In addition to VIN information, the user can use the device to capture insurance information of parties involved, and document witness identification and statements. The device can also log global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the device&#39;s position, so for example the accident location can be documented. 
         [0013]    While operating the device, the user takes a picture or holds the device over the damaged area to capture a still shot. The still shot or captured image is processed by the device and a damage calculation is performed. This is accomplished by first converting the captured image to a two-dimensional array of pixels. In one embodiment, pixels are converted to grayscale and each pixel is assigned a light intensity value. In another embodiment, color values are assigned to each pixel. In the case of automobiles where the user captures an image of a damaged body panel  2 , a database containing body panels is accessed by the device. Information relating to the matching original manufacturer equipment (OEM) body panel for that particular vehicle is found in the database and stored as an image. Since the real-world OEM dimensions are known, real-world pixel size can be determined once the OEM body panel image is overlaid onto the damaged body panel image. Alternatively the user can input real-world dimensions into the computing device. 
         [0014]    An analysis is performed to compare the relative light intensity values of the captured image with values that are stored in the database. If, for example, a dent is present in the captured image, relative light intensity values for the pixels representing the damaged area would deviate from the database values representing the OEM body panel. As the dimensions in the OEM body panel are known, the true area and location  1  of damage on the captured image can be computed by counting the pixels that have intensity deviations. Light intensities are compared between neighboring pixels, and smoothing functions can be used to improve detection accuracy. The deltas between the neighboring pixels of the captured image are compared to the deltas of the corresponding pixels of the OEM image found in a database. The computing device counts the pixels corresponding to the intensity deviations. By comparing both deltas and absolute light intensities, areas of damage can be detected even when the images of the damaged vehicle are captured under differing lighting conditions. 
         [0015]    Depending on the device used, video capture and three-dimensional (3D) imagery can be captured to document damage. Certain devices are capable of creating holographic images and representations of the subject or automobile. Numerical calculations known in the art are performed on images and features of images to determine dimensional characteristics such as length, width, height and depth. Real-world measurements can also be entered and/or acknowledged by the user. 
         [0016]    To improve the accuracy of the captured images, the algorithm of the present invention provides the user with guideposts displayed on the screen of the device used to capture the image. For example, the user would indicate the section of the vehicle being captured, such as a fender, or multiple sections and body panels, or the entire vehicle. The device would display on screen via an onscreen guide the designated sections, such as a generic fender outline, which the user can use to distance the device to capture the optimal image size. The onscreen guide also provides for display of every make and model of vehicle, or subsections thereof. Further image processing can be done within the software to expand or contract the image so that the appropriate size is achieved to properly correspond with the sizing of the OEM images found on the database. User friendly alert features such as playing a sound or changing the screen background to green, for example, can be implemented in the software so the user is notified of the proper positioning of the image capturing device. Once the fender is identified by the system, the exact make and model of the vehicle will then be displayed, and the user will see the correct fender outline on the display of the device rather than a generic fender. 
         [0017]    Additional analysis of body panel gaps or shut lines can be performed by comparing to shut line information found in one or more databases. In this way, evidence of structural damage or shoddy repair work can be documented. For example, shut lines around the vehicle hood and trunk should be symmetric. The present invention can easily detect variations in shut line dimensions which can be incorporated into the damage analysis. Comparison to CAD information will reveal whether the vehicle&#39;s chassis is outside of specifications and alignment is necessary. 
         [0018]    In some instances, the user may not have a good vantage point or lighting may be poor and capture image automatic analysis may not be possible. In such instances, the user can manually enter damages into the computing device. Similarly, in the event of system outages or other technical failure, the user can enter measurements of damaged areas as a failsafe which can be later uploaded to a database once connectivity is restored. Entries can include approximate damage dimensions such as area, depth, and length. The user may enter numeric values, or the user may draw onto the database image on the screen of the device the areas of damage. The computing device will detect the user inputs drawn onto the screen via touchscreen technology known in the art and compute damage dimensions based on the user inputs. The user can select onscreen, for example by finger touch or stylus, the pixels corresponding to the damaged areas on the OEM body panel. As a further failsafe, the user can communicate to a third-party on the backend the damaged areas, and the third-party can manually input dimensional damage information, or alternatively can select pixels on the OEM body panel. For example, the third-party can select displayed pixels via finger touch or stylus. 
         [0019]    Captured images can be compared with databases containing images of vehicle body panels such that the device can recognize and determine the make, model, year or year range and body-style of a particular vehicle. Alternatively, the user can scan or enter the VIN of the vehicle. This can be done by capturing an image or still shot of the VIN plate located under the windshield of most vehicles, or on the doorjamb sticker. Optical character recognition (OCR) software, as is known in the art, can recognize the alphanumeric symbols of the VIN. VIN recognition provides for vehicle history data, such as prior insurance claims, prior damage reported, and official Motor Vehicle history. The user can also manually enter the VIN, vehicle year, make, model and trim. 
         [0020]    The resulting data of the damage detection functionality can be used to generate a report showing damages information and the cost of replacement parts and/or cost of repairs. Damages information includes the real-world dimensions of the damaged areas. For example, the report may include numerical information on the damage detected, such as a five-inch scratch or a circular dent having diameter of seven inches. Repair cost information is found on various databases, such as those owned by Mitchell International Inc. The present invention automatically inputs data to repair estimating software so as to seamlessly report damage information and repair information. Damage information can also be inputted manually by either the user or a third-party in communication with the user, so that a report can be generated in the event of errors or failure in the damage detection functionality. 
         [0021]    The user is presented with options on his/her device. Such options include receiving a complete CAD report or similar graphical representation displaying one or more images representing the damaged and undamaged vehicle, reports on structural integrity issues, repair estimates for body work or paintless or paint-free dent removal, and the option to make an insurance claim. Repair estimates can be provided by integration with repair-estimating technology known in the auto repair industry. The application embodying the present invention will also document driver licenses and insurance cards as part of the insurance claims process. The option will also be available to contact first responders and other emergency assistance, as well as transmitting user selected data to authorities and first responders. 
         [0022]    If the user chooses to make an insurance claim, the user can be provided with a projected settlement, reducing the insurance adjustment processing time. The user can then bid the repair job to repair facilities, and may schedule an appointment or towing with his/her chosen repair facility. The system can also notify repair facilities with the damage calculations, affected body parts and part numbers necessary to complete the repair. The application embodying the present invention can also be used to create a community of users or market participants who can buy or sell damaged vehicles, since valuable data can be provided to the market participants such as damage and repair estimates. 
         [0023]    Data that is collected by the present invention can be used to create a database to supplement vehicle histories. This allows the user to view not only official Motor Vehicle records, but also data that has been collected by users of the invention, for a more complete vehicle history. Traditional vehicle history reports are linked to a vehicle identification number (VIN) and generally show information related to title records, salvage and insurance claims and total loss records, odometer readings and accident records. Traditional vehicle history reports do not provide detailed information on body and structural damage sustained by a vehicle. The present invention generates reports containing not only traditional vehicle history information, but also detailed information relating to vehicle body panel and structural damage, such as shut line deviations. The detailed damage reports provided by the present invention will provide consumers, insurance companies, automobile dealers and other industry participants with greater transparency on vehicle history. 
         [0024]    Additionally, the present invention is useful for construction sites where, for example, verifications or sign-offs are required by insurance companies, contractors, developers, engineers and architects. The invention can be used to capture or scan 3D images of proposed sites. These captures or scans can then be overlaid by completed designs rendered from stored information such as architectural plans, or other such plans that may be filed with municipalities and agencies. 
         [0025]    Additional uses include facilitating the purchasing of items such as bicycles, motorcycles, boats, planes, ships or any solid object capable of being photographed and pixelized by providing evidence of anomalies or structural variances to the user.