US-12619955-B2 - Method of universal automated verification of vehicle damage

US12619955B2US 12619955 B2US12619955 B2US 12619955B2US-12619955-B2

Abstract

The present invention relates to verification of damage to vehicles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a universal approach to automated generation of a damage estimate to a vehicle using images of the vehicle and verification of a manually-generated damage repair proposals using the automatically generated damage estimate. Aspects and/or embodiments seek to provide a computer-implemented method of generating one or more repair estimates from one or more photos of a damaged vehicle and comparing the generated estimate(s) to one or more input repair estimates to verify the one or more input repair estimates.

Inventors

Razvan RANCA
Mathieu AYEL
Julia PEYRE
Shaun TRILL
Crystal VAN OOSTEROM
Marcel HORSTMANN
Bjorn MATTSSON
Janto OELLRICH
Yih Kai TEH
Ken CHATFIELD
Franziska KIRSCHNER
Rusen AKTAS
Laurent DECAMP

Assignees

TRACTABLE LTD

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20220613
Priority Date: 20200103

Claims (18)

1 . A computer-implemented method of generating a damage classification for a vehicle, comprising: receiving a plurality of images of the vehicle wherein some of the images comprise image data of damage to the vehicle; determining, using one or more classifiers that are specific to a plurality of parts of the vehicle, at least one classification of damage to the vehicle based on at least the plurality of images, wherein each classifier is generic with respect to a make and model of the vehicle; outputting the determined classifications of the damage to the vehicle; receiving claim input data comprising details of one or more proposed parts and labor operations for repairing the damage to the vehicle; and verifying that the determined classifications of the damage to the vehicle correspond to the one or more proposed parts and labor operations for repairing the damage to the vehicle based on a confidence value associated with the determined classifications of the damage to the vehicle.
2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein verifying that the determined classifications of the damaged to the vehicle correspond to the one or more proposed parts and labor operations for repairing the damage to the vehicle comprises using one or more computer-implemented natural language processing models on the claim input data.
3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: using one or more secondary classifiers trained on specific vehicle parts that is operable to generate damage representations of the specific vehicle parts from at least the plurality of images, wherein the specific vehicle parts are specific to any or any combination of a predetermined make, model and year of vehicle.
4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein at least a subset of the plurality of classifiers comprise a hierarchical arrangement.
5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , wherein the hierarchical arrangement comprises at least three classifiers arranged hierarchically.
6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , wherein the hierarchical arrangement further comprises one or more rules engines and/or databases.
7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more classifiers are configured to use rules specific to a jurisdiction, market or geography.
8 . The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more classifiers are configured to use a computer vision damage assessment model.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the confidence value comprises a certainty of the prediction of the damage to the vehicle.
10 . A processor configured to perform operations, comprising: receiving a plurality of images of the vehicle wherein some of the images comprise image data of damage to the vehicle; determining, using one or more classifiers that are specific to a plurality of parts of the vehicle, at least one classification of damage to the vehicle based on at least the plurality of images, wherein each classifier is generic with respect to a make and model of the vehicle; outputting the determined classifications of the damage to the vehicle; receiving claim input data comprising details of one or more proposed parts and labor operations for repairing the damage to the vehicle; and verifying that the determined classifications of the damage to the vehicle correspond to the one or more proposed parts and labor operations for repairing the damage to the vehicle based on a confidence value associated with the determined classifications of damage to the vehicle.
11 . The processor of claim 10 , wherein verifying that the determined classifications of the damaged to the vehicle correspond to the one or more proposed parts and labor operations for repairing the damage to the vehicle comprises using one or more computer-implemented natural language processing models on the claim input data.
12 . The processor of claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise: using one or more secondary classifiers trained on specific vehicle parts that is operable to generate damage representations of the specific vehicle parts from at least the plurality of images, wherein the specific vehicle parts are specific to any or any combination of a predetermined make, model and year of vehicle.
13 . The processor of claim 10 , wherein at least a subset of the plurality of classifiers comprise a hierarchical arrangement.
14 . The processor of claim 13 , wherein the hierarchical arrangement comprises at least three classifiers arranged hierarchically.
15 . The processor of claim 13 , wherein the hierarchical arrangement further comprises one or more rules engines and/or databases.
16 . The processor of claim 10 , wherein the one or more classifiers are configured to use rules specific to a jurisdiction, market or geography.
17 . The processor of claim 10 , wherein the one or more classifiers are configured to use a computer vision damage assessment model.
18 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising a set of executable instructions, wherein the executable instructions cause a processor to: receive a plurality of images of the vehicle wherein some of the images comprise image data of damage to the vehicle; determine, using one or more classifiers that are specific to a plurality of parts of the vehicle, at least one classification of damage to the vehicle based on at least the plurality of images, wherein each classifier is generic with respect to a make and model of the vehicle; output the determined classifications of the damage to the vehicle; receive claim input data comprising details of one or more proposed parts and labor operations for repairing the damage to the vehicle; and verify that the determined classifications of the damage to the vehicle correspond to the one or more proposed parts and labor operations for repairing the damage to the vehicle based on a confidence value associated with the determined classifications of the damage to the vehicle.

Description

FIELD The present invention relates to verification of damage to vehicles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a universal approach to automated generation of a damage estimate to a vehicle using images of the vehicle and verification of a manually-generated damage repair proposals using the automatically generated damage estimate. BACKGROUND Typically, and as shown in FIG. 1, when a vehicle is involved in an accident (or is damaged) 105, the vehicle or its driver will be insured, and the driver will contact the relevant insurance company 110 to make a claim following a typical claim procedure 100. The insurance company's estimation team 135 will then need to assess the damage to the vehicle and approve any claim, and the driver or insurer will then arrange for the vehicle to be repaired 145. Alternatively, the insurance company may make a cash settlement 150 in place of arranging or paying for repairs or may make a decision that the vehicle is a total loss 140 and compensate the insured party accordingly or arrange for a replacement vehicle to be procured. As shown in FIG. 1, the claim procedure 100 following an accident 105 requires the driver or insured party to call their insurer 110, and personnel at the insurer will follow a script 115 to receive and process the claim. As part of the script 115, the insurer will obtain from the driver or insured party some information about the accident 105. Typically, the insurer will be provided with information about the insured person 120 (which may also include details of the vehicle and its condition etc that are provided during the call, or which are stored in the insurer's database and retrieved following receipt of the details of the insured person); details of the crash or accident 125, for example the circumstances and extent of the damage; and photos of the damage 130. The photos of the damage 130 are typically taken by the driver or the insured party and can be of varying quality and comprehensiveness. Typically, photos are taken using phones equipped with cameras. Various problems can arise from this approach, including that too few photos are taken and provided to the insurer. Also, the photos taken may not be sufficiently well composed or may be of low quality due to the quality of the camera used to take the photos or the skill of the user. The photos of the damage 130 can be provided to the insurer either via e-mail, facsimile or post, for example. This means there is typically a delay in the receipt of the photos 130 by the insurer, thus delaying the processing of the claim by the insurer and slowing down the decision-making process as to whether the damage is a total loss 140, or whether a cash settlement 150 can be offered, or whether to arrange or allow the driver or insured part to arrange for repairs to the vehicle 145. As part of the claim procedure, and more specifically the claim review procedure which is carried out by the insurer to verify the costs of the proposed repair work by manually assessing data provided by the client and any proposed repairer, the insurer may request further information or claim data to be provided from the driver or insured party regarding the accident. This may include details of the vehicle and its condition prior to any damage etc. These are typically provided during a telephone call or are obtained having been stored in the insurer's database, but sometimes requires the insurer to contact the insured party in a follow up telephone call, letter or e-mail requesting the further details. Further, the insurer will require sufficient details of the accident to be provided, along with sufficient photographs of the damage for example, so this must be obtained during the first and any subsequent contact with the insured party. The process of obtaining sufficient information can be slow, especially if further requests for information are made in separate subsequent contacts with the insured party, and thus can significantly delay the processing of an insurance claim. Further, the proposed repairer may be required to send details of the proposed repairs, including for example the labour tasks as well as any parts or materials costs, to the insurer for approval prior to commencing work. The insurer can then assess whether the claim is covered by the relevant policy under which the claim is made and determine whether the estimated costs of repair can be verified and/or approved as may be appropriate. Various tools and processes have been developed to assist vehicle repair businesses and vehicle insurers respectively to prepare and approve repair proposals for damaged vehicles, for example as a result of the vehicle being involved in an accident. Vehicle repair businesses need to be able to itemise both the labour required and the specific parts required in order to repair the vehicle, and then submit this for approval to an insurer where the repair is covered by an insurance policy. Due to the large numbe