US-20260126339-A1 - SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETECTING EMERGENCY CONDITIONS WITHIN A ROOFING STRUCTURE AND INITIATING REMEDIATION PROCEDURES

Abstract

Techniques for detecting damage to a roofing structure and initiating remediation procedures are disclosed herein. An exemplary computer-implemented method may include receiving sensor data from a plurality of sensors located proximate to the roofing structure to monitor a plurality of environmental conditions. The exemplary method may include (1) identifying, by one or more processors, a type of damage within the roofing structure based upon the sensor data; (2) locating a position of the damage within the roofing structure; determining a set of remediation services based upon the type of damage; and (3) identifying one or more remediation service providers to perform the set of remediation services. The exemplary method may include generating and transmitting an alert signal to a computing device identifying the type of damage to the roofing structure and contact information corresponding to at least one or more remediation service providers.

Inventors

• John R. Donovan
• Joseph Brannan
• Aaron Williams
• Jeffrey W. Stoiber
• Bryan R. Nussbaum
• EllaKate LeFebre

Assignees

• STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251219

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A computer system for detecting damage to a roofing structure and initiating remediation procedures to perform remediation services and mitigate the damage, comprising: one or more processors; and a non-transitory computer-readable memory coupled to the one or more processors, the memory storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive sensor data from a sensor located proximate to the roofing structure, the sensor being configured to monitor one or more environmental conditions, identify a type of damage within the roofing structure based upon the sensor data, determine a set of remediation services based upon the type of damage, generate an alert signal identifying the type of damage to the roofing structure and contact information corresponding to at least one remediation service provider for performing the set of remediation services, and transmit the alert signal to a computing device of a user associated with the roofing structure.
2. 2 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to: identify at least one of the one or more environmental conditions based upon the sensor data, the one or more environmental conditions comprising at least one of: (i) precipitation, (ii) humidity, (iii) rain, (iv) snow, (v) sleet, (vi) hail, (vii) ice, (viii) wind, or (ix) changes in temperature over a period of time.
3. 3 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to: identify a set of environmentally dangerous conditions based upon the sensor data; generate an evacuation recommendation based upon the set of environmentally dangerous conditions; and transmit the evacuation recommendation to the computing device of the user associated with the roofing structure.
4. 4 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is installed in contact with at least one of: (i) an exterior surface of the roofing structure or (ii) an internal surface of the roofing structure.
5. 5 . The computer system of claim 4 , wherein the exterior surface of the roofing structure comprises: (i) roof shingles, (ii) an eave, (iii) a fascia, (iv) a gable end, (v) a rake, (vi) a chimney flashing, (vii) a valley, (viii) a ridge, (ix) a soffit, (x) an abutment, (xi) a drip edge, (xii) a dormer edge, (xiii) a hip, (xiv) a hipped edge, (xv) a flashing, or (xvi) a rain gutter.
6. 6 . The computer system of claim 4 , wherein the sensor comprises a plurality of sensors, and wherein the plurality of sensors are installed in contact with the exterior surface of the roofing structure such that there is at least one sensor per shingle, at least one sensor per every ten shingles, or at least one sensor per every twenty shingles.
7. 7 . The computer system of claim 4 , wherein the internal surface of the roofing structure comprises: (i) an attic ceiling, (ii) attic rafters, (iii) attic sheathing, (iv) rafter vents, (v) a bottom surface of roof shingles, or (vi) an attic surface between the attic rafters.
8. 8 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is an impact sensor, wherein the impact sensor is configured to measure a load on the roofing structure.
9. 9 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to: locate a position of the damage within the roofing structure based upon the sensor data; and identify the at least one remediation service provider to perform the set of remediation services.
10. 10 . A computer-implemented method for detecting damage to a roofing structure and initiating remediation procedures to perform remediation services and mitigate the damage, the method comprising: receiving sensor data from a sensor located proximate to the roofing structure, the sensor being configured to monitor one or more environmental conditions; identifying, by one or more processors, a type of damage within the roofing structure based upon the sensor data; determining, by one or more processors, a set of remediation services based upon the type of damage; generating, by one or more processors, an alert signal identifying the type of damage to the roofing structure and contact information corresponding to at least one remediation service provider for performing the set of remediation services; and transmitting, by one or more processors, the alert signal to a computing device of a user associated with the roofing structure.
11. 11 . The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , further comprising: identifying at least one of the one or more environmental conditions based upon the sensor data, the one or more environmental conditions comprising at least one of: (i) precipitation, (ii) humidity, (iii) rain, (iv) snow, (v) sleet, (vi) hail, (vii) ice, (viii) wind, or (ix) changes in temperature over a period of time.
12. 12 . The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , further comprising: identifying a set of environmentally dangerous conditions based upon the sensor data; generating an evacuation recommendation based upon the set of environmentally dangerous conditions; and transmitting the evacuation recommendation to the computing device of the user associated with the roofing structure.
13. 13 . The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein the sensor is installed in contact with at least one of: (i) an exterior surface of the roofing structure or (ii) an internal surface of the roofing structure.
14. 14 . The computer-implemented method of claim 13 , wherein the exterior surface of the roofing structure comprises: (i) roof shingles, (ii) an eave, (iii) a fascia, (iv) a gable end, (v) a rake, (vi) a chimney flashing, (vii) a valley, (viii) a ridge, (ix) a soffit, (x) an abutment, (xi) a drip edge, (xii) a dormer edge, (xiii) a hip, (xiv) a hipped edge, (xv) a flashing, or (xvi) a rain gutter.
15. 15 . The computer-implemented method of claim 14 , wherein the sensor is a plurality of sensors, and wherein the plurality of sensors are installed in contact with the exterior surface of the roofing structure such that there is at least one sensor per shingle, at least one sensor per every ten shingles, at least one sensor per every twenty shingles.
16. 16 . The computer-implemented method of claim 13 , wherein the internal surface of the roofing structure comprises: (i) an attic ceiling, (ii) attic rafters, (iii) attic sheathing, (iv) rafter vents, (v) a bottom surface of roof shingles, or (vi) an attic surface between the attic rafters.
17. 17 . The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein the sensor is an impact sensor, wherein the impact sensor is configured to measure a load on the roofing structure.
18. 18 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions for detecting emergency conditions within roofing structures and initiating remediation procedures that, when executed, cause a machine to at least: detect an emergency condition based upon sensor data from a sensor associated with a roofing structure; determine a set of remediation services corresponding to the roofing structure based upon the emergency condition; generate a remediation alert signal that includes contact information corresponding to at least one remediation service provider for performing the set of remediation services; and transmit the remediation alert signal to a user computing device of a user associated with the roofing structure.
19. 19 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the instructions, when executed further cause the machine to at least: determine the set of remediation services by determining a remediation action based upon the emergency condition, the remediation action being associated with sensor data from the sensor associated with the roofing structure.
20. 20 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the instructions, when executed further cause the machine to at least: prior to detecting the emergency condition, detect a catastrophic event approaching the roofing structure; aggregate signal data from a plurality of sensors in a plurality of structures within a region including the roofing structure; determine an evacuation value associated with the region based upon the signal data from the plurality of devices; generate an evacuation recommendation based upon the evacuation value, wherein the evacuation recommendation includes one or more recommended evacuation routes and one or more safe areas; and cause the evacuation recommendation to be displayed to the user.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/459,396, entitled “Systems and Methods for Detecting Emergency Conditions Within a Roofing Structure and Initiating Remediation Procedures,”filed on Aug. 31, 2023, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/440,562, entitled “Systems and Methods for Detecting Emergency Conditions Within a Roofing Structure and Initiating Remediation Procedures,” filed on Jan. 23, 2023, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for monitoring structures and devices, and more particularly, to detecting emergency conditions within roofing structures and initiating remediation procedures to alleviate/mitigate damaging effects of the emergency condition. BACKGROUND Generally speaking, home owners and property owners may be responsible for the maintenance, repair, and overall upkeep of their respective structures. As part of that responsibility, such owners may typically determine when and how to perform maintenance but may conventionally lack sufficient knowledge about when and how that maintenance should be performed. Many issues that may result in catastrophic damage to a roofing structure, such as damaged or rotting singles, damaged flashing, standing or pooling water, roof leaks, insufficient drainage, and many others may go unnoticed for months/years. Conventional techniques may completely lack the capability to inform property owners about such issues. Namely, conventional techniques may involve an owner manually inspecting areas of the structure and devices within the structure for damage or other issues that may require maintenance/repair. Other conventional techniques may include a maintenance service provider contacting a home owner when regular maintenance for portions of the owner's structure or devices therein are scheduled for maintenance within the service provider's system. However, in either case, portions of the owner's structure or devices that are not included in the inspection/maintenance services provided by the maintenance service provider and/or randomly inspected by the owner themselves may remain completely unexamined for months/years. As a result, these conventional techniques frequently overlook portions of an owner's structure or devices that may desperately require maintenance or repair, such that the owner's structure/devices may experience catastrophic effects to a roofing structure (e.g., snow damage, hail damage, high wind damage, damage from trees and shrubbery, etc.) leading to exorbitantly expensive and/or irreparable damage. These issues with conventional techniques are further compounded in circumstances where the owner's structure is subjected to extreme weather conditions that may cause months/years-worth of damage or wear in relatively short periods (e.g., minutes, hours, days). For example, hurricanes bring massive storm surges and high winds that may easily flood and/or otherwise damage poorly maintained structures or devices therein. In situations where a catastrophic event (e.g., hurricane, tornado, blizzard, snow, or ice storm, etc.) is approaching and an owner has not maintained their structure, the owner's life may also be in danger because the structure may lack the necessary robustness to avoid catastrophic damage from the event. Therefore, in general, proper maintenance, repair, and overall upkeep of a structure and the systems/devices proximate to the structure is an area of great interest, and conventional techniques may be insufficient for providing such proper upkeep. Conventional techniques may also include additional ineffectiveness, inefficiencies, encumbrances, and/or other drawbacks. SUMMARY Generally, the present embodiments may relate to, inter alia, detecting emergency conditions within structures and determining a set of remediation services corresponding to the structure to provide property owners with (i) accurate, up-to-date information about potential hazardous/emergency conditions, and (ii) recommendations for mitigating and/or repairing any damaging effects. For instance, the present embodiments may relate to monitoring sensor data from sensors disposed proximate to a roofing structure and/or electronic sensors located within the roofing structure to detect emergency conditions exterior or internal to the roofing structure. From these detected emergency conditions, the systems and methods of the present disclosure may determine a set of remediation services corresponding to the information provided by the electronic sensors placed within the roofing structure that may help a user/property owner (collectively referenced herein as “users” or a “user”) mitigate and/or avoid damaging effects to the roofing structure over a period of time or from an emergency condition. The systems and methods of the present disclosure may a