Systems and methods for assessing property damage
AssigneeState Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
InventorsBryan Allen Plummer, Drew Cross
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A damage assessment module operating on a computer system automatically evaluates a property, estimating damage to the property by analyzing a point cloud of a property. The damage assessment module identifies individual point clusters or segments from the point cloud and detects potentially damaged areas of the property surface by identifying outlier points in the point clusters. The damage assessment module may be used to determine the financial cost of the damage and/or determine whether the property should be replaced or repaired. In addition to eliminating the need for an estimator to visit the property in person, the damage assessment module improves the consistency and accuracy associated with estimating damage to a property.
Claims22
A computer implemented method for estimating damage to a property, the method comprising:
- causing one or more processors to access, at a memory device, a three-dimensional (3D) point cloud representing a property;
- comparing, by one or more processors, a first segment of the 3D point cloud to a model point cloud, the first segment corresponding to a first object of a plurality of objects detectable at a surface of the property;
- identifying, by one or more processors and based on the comparison of the first segment to the model point cloud, a set of outlier points from the first segment;
- associating, by one or more processors, the identified set of outlier points with a damage status;
- and
- generating, by one or more processors and based at least in part on the damage status associated with the set of outlier points, a report of estimated damage to the property.
A system for determining whether an object is damaged beyond expected wear and tear, the system comprising:
- one or more 3D scanners for scanning a first object to generate a first point cloud representing the first object, wherein the first object is a component of:
- (i) a building, or (ii) a vehicle;
- one or more memories for storing the first point cloud generated at the one or more 3D scanners from a scan of the building or the vehicle;
- one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, wherein the one or more memories include non-transitory computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to:
- (i) determine, for a particular point in the first point cloud, a nearest-neighbor distance by comparing the first point cloud to a model point cloud representing a model object,
- the nearest-neighbor distance being between the particular point in the first point cloud and a nearest point in the model point cloud,
- the nearest point in the model point cloud being nearest, relative to other points in the model point cloud, to the particular point in the first point cloud;
- (ii) determine whether the nearest-neighbor distance for the particular point exceeds a threshold;
- (iii) determine, when the nearest-neighbor distance for the particular point exceeds the threshold, that the particular point represents a point of potential damage, exceeding expected wear and tear, to the first object;
- and
- (iv) generate a display indicating that the first object is potentially damaged beyond expected wear and tear when it is determined that the particular point represents a point of potential damage, exceeding expected wear and tear, to the first object.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.