Automated Property Damage Assessment via Aerial Zoning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for inspecting and estimating damage to buildings after disasters are inefficient and costly, requiring multiple physical inspections by different analysts and companies, which can be time-consuming and expensive, especially for widespread damage across large areas.
Innovation Solution
A network-based guideline management system that automates the inspection and estimation process by zoning damaged areas, managing guidelines, and assigning qualified inspectors to create scopes of repair, ensuring compliance with insurance company rules and policies, and facilitating efficient communication and data sharing among stakeholders.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple analysts from different repair companies physically inspect each damaged property, then comprehensive damage assessment and repair estimates can be obtained, but the process becomes enormously time-consuming and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses aerial imagery and photogrammetry to create accurate 3D models and damage assessments of properties without requiring physical inspectors to visit each location. This copying approach allows multiple repair companies to analyze the same high-quality digital models, obtaining comprehensive damage assessment data without the time and cost of multiple physical inspections.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a universal digital dataset (aerial imagery and 3D models) that can be used by multiple repair companies and insurance adjusters simultaneously. This single universal resource serves the function of multiple individual inspections, allowing all stakeholders to perform their assessments from the same accurate data source.
2Measurement precision
If multiple analysts from different repair companies physically inspect each damaged property, then comprehensive repair estimates can be generated, but the process becomes enormously expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive physical inspection trips by multiple companies with a single set of aerial imagery and 3D models that all companies can access. This copying approach maintains repair estimate accuracy while dramatically reducing the cumulative cost of travel, time, and resources required for multiple physical inspections.
Solution Approach 2:
The system discards the traditional model of repeated physical inspections and recovers value through a single comprehensive aerial survey that serves all inspection needs. The high initial investment in aerial imaging is recovered many times over as it replaces numerous individual inspection costs.
3Measurement precision
If permission is obtained to physically access each damaged property for inspection, then accurate damage assessment can be performed, but the process becomes exhausting and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of physical property access and human inspection with an aerial imaging system that captures imagery from above. This substitution eliminates the need for permission to access properties, as the aerial survey can image properties from public airspace, making the inspection process vastly easier and more accessible.
Solution Approach 2:
The aerial imagery and 3D models serve as an intermediary between the inspector and the property. Instead of requiring direct physical access to the property, the intermediary digital models provide all necessary inspection data, facilitating easy and non-intrusive assessment.
4Measurement precision
If extensive testing or demolition is performed to determine structural damage, then complete understanding of damage scope can be achieved, but the process becomes impossibly time-consuming and destructive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses photogrammetry and 3D modeling to create accurate digital copies of building structures and their damage. This allows for virtual analysis of structural integrity and damage scope without requiring physical testing or demolition, achieving comprehensive understanding while avoiding the complexity and destructiveness of extensive field testing.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a method and system for automating emergency event response. Information associated with an event is received via a network connection. An extent of impact of the event is determined. A location of the impact of the event is determined. One or more geographical zones associated with the event are determined based on the determination of the extent of impact and the determination of the location of the impact. Each of the geographical zones is associated with a different section portion of the geographical area. A first physical property of one or more physical properties is determined to qualify for contractor inspection based on a location of each of one or more physical properties and a determined access level for geographical zone relative to the location. A customer inspection workflow associated with the first physical property is transmitted to a user device associated with a contractor.