Patent Document ID: 9495764
Application ID: 15076321
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A computer-implemented method comprising: acquiring, via one or more mobile devices moving around an exterior of a pile of material atop an underlying surface, a plurality of images of the exterior using image acquisition capabilities of the one or more mobile devices, wherein at least some of the images partially include visual representations of additional subject matter that is not part of the pile of material; generating, by one or more configured devices and based at least in part on analyzing some or all of the plurality of images, a three-dimensional computer model of the exterior, and an additional model representing an adjacent portion of the underlying surface that surrounds the exterior; estimating, by the one or more configured devices and based at least in part on analyzing the three-dimensional computer model and the additional model, a volume of the pile of material; verifying, by the one or more configured devices, accuracy of the estimated volume, the verifying of the accuracy including: calculating, by the one or more configured devices and with respect to a portion of the generated three-dimensional computer model that represents a surface of the pile of material above the underlying surface, a first percentage of the portion that has corresponding data acquired from the plurality of images; calculating, by the one or more configured devices and from the additional model, a second percentage of the adjacent portion of the underlying surface having a slope below a defined slope threshold; and determining, by the one or more configured devices, that the accuracy of the estimated volume is verified based at least in part on a comparison of the calculated first percentage to a defined first threshold and of the calculated second percentage to a defined second threshold; and providing, by the one or more configured devices and via one or more electronic communications to one or more recipients, information about the estimated volume and the verified accuracy.