Patent Issued for Image-based processing for products (USPTO 11935130): Allstate Insurance Company

2024 APR 04 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx journalists, a patent by the inventors Corder, Bryan Keith (Gurnee, IL, US), Riggio, John A. (Mundelein, IL, US), Sanchez, Carlos D. (Bartlett, IL, US), filed on May 23, 2022, was published online on March 19, 2024.

The assignee for this patent, patent number 11935130, is Allstate Insurance Company (Northbrook, Illinois, United States).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Structural information for buildings can be difficult to obtain. Some types of information may be readily accessible such as a number of rooms in a building, property value, square footage, lot size and the like. However, other types of information may be more challenging to obtain. For example, information about parts of a building that are not easily observable may be difficult to collect. Similarly, information that requires close inspection or analysis might be similarly elusive. While aerial imagery and space-based imagery has become more generally available and the use thereof more widespread, the manner in which this type of imagery is analyzed and processed has not achieved a level of sophistication requisite for more accurate assessments of structural risks and the like.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. The summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. It is neither intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of the disclosure. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the description below.

“Aspects of the disclosure relate to the analysis and processing of detailed aerial or spaced-based imagery to evaluate a range of characteristics of a building. In one example, the imagery may be analyzed to determine roof information, including a type of roof, an age of the roof and the pitch of the roof. Using that information, an entity such as an insurance provider may improve the processing speed and effectiveness of generating quotes, developing business strategies and claims processing.

“Other features and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent from the additional description provided herein.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. An image processing system comprising: a ground-based digital image processing device comprising: a processor; and memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the ground-based digital image processing device to: receive a notification of a claim for a property that has damaged; determine a location of the property; identify an imaging device with which to capture a digital image of the property based on an expected location of the imaging device given a current trajectory and a current speed, the imaging device including at least one of a space-based image sensor and an aerial image sensor; determine one or more digital image capture parameters based on at least one of: a weather condition, a type of object to be imaged, and a property density, the one or more digital image capture parameters including a type of sensor; instruct the imaging device to capture an image of the property based on the determined location; perform image analysis on the captured image of the property to identify a characteristic of the property; determine, based on the characteristic of the property a recommended equipment type for the property; determine, based on determining the recommended equipment type, an availability of the recommended equipment type; and automatically schedule the recommended equipment type to repair the property.

“2. The image processing system of claim 1, wherein the claim comprises claim including at least one of a type of damage, an estimated repair cost, an estimated replacement cost, or customer information, the customer information comprising at least one of a name, a customer location, or contact information.

“3. The image processing system of claim 1, wherein the characteristic of the property include at least one of a roof age, a roof type, a roof pitch, a number of stories, a roof shape, a roof square footage, an extent of damage, a type of damage, an indication of one or more hazards, or an indication of one or more roof features including a solar panel.

“4. The image processing system of claim 1, wherein the one or more digital image capture parameters comprises an angle for the captured image.

“5. The image processing system of claim 1, wherein instructing the imaging device to capture the image of the property is responsive to receiving the notification of the claim.

“6. The image processing system of claim 1, wherein instructing the imaging device to capture the image of the property is based on a schedule; and wherein the captured image is stored in an image warehouse for later retrieval.

“7. The image processing system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise determining, based on the characteristic of the property, a recommended personal for the property, the recommended personal determined based on at least one of a certification or a training that corresponds to the characteristic of the property.

“8. The image processing system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise determining, based on the characteristic of the property a required reporting procedure.

“9. Non-transitory computer readable media storing instructions thereon that, when expected by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising: receiving a notification of a claim for a property that has been damaged; determining a location of the property; identifying an imaging device with which to capture a digital image of the property based on an expected location of the imaging device given a current trajectory and a current speed, the imaging device including at least one of a space-based image sensor and an aerial image sensor; determining one or more digital image capture parameters based on at least one of: a weather condition, a type of object to be imaged, and a property density, the one or more digital image capture parameters including a type of sensor to use; instructing the imaging device to capture an image of the property using the determined location; performing image analysis on the captured image of the property to identify a characteristic of the property; determining, based on the characteristic of the property, a recommended equipment type for the property; determining, based on the recommended equipment type, an availability of the recommended equipment type; and automatically scheduling the recommended equipment type.

“10. The media of claim 9, wherein the claim comprises claim including at least one of a type of damage, an estimated repair cost, an estimated replacement cost, or customer information, the customer information comprising at least one of a name, a customer location, or contact information.

“11. The media of claim 9, wherein the characteristic of the property includes at least one of a roof age, a roof type, a roof pitch, a number of stories, a roof shape, a roof square footage, an extent of damage, a type of damage, an indication of one or more hazards, or an indication of one or more roof features including a solar panel.

“12. The media of claim 9, wherein instructing the imaging device to capture the image of the property is responsive to receiving the notification of the claim.

“13. The media of claim 9, wherein instructing the imaging device to capture the image of the property is based on a schedule; and wherein the captured image is stored in an image warehouse for later retrieval.

“14. The media of claim 9, further comprising determining, based on the characteristic of the property, a recommended personal for the property, the recommended personal determined based on at least one of a certification or a training that corresponds to the characteristic of the property.

“15. The media of claim 9, further comprising determining, based on the characteristic of the property a required reporting procedure.

“16. A method comprising: receiving a notification of a claim for a property; determining a location of the property; identifying an imaging device with which to capture a digital image of the property based on an expected location of the imaging device given a current trajectory and a current speed, the imaging device including at least one of a space-based image sensor and an aerial image sensor; determining one or more digital image capture parameters based on at least one of: a weather condition, type of object to be imaged, and property density, the one or more digital image capture parameters including a type of sensor to use; instructing the imaging device to capture an image of the property using the determined location and identified imaging device; performing image analysis on the captured image of the property to identify a characteristic of the property; determining, based on the characteristic of the property a recommended equipment type for the property; determining, based on determining the recommended equipment type, an availability of the recommended equipment type; automatically scheduling the recommended equipment type to repair the property; determining that the claim has been approved; obtaining additional images of the property, performing image analysis on the additional images of the property to determine whether repairs have been completed for the property; and determining a premium adjustment based on determining that the repairs have not been completed for the property.

“17. The method of claim 16, wherein performing the image analysis further includes at least one of: texture analysis and color determination.

“18. The method of claim 16, wherein the characteristic of the property includes at least one of a roof age, a roof type, a roof pitch, a number of stories, a roof shape, a roof square footage, an extent of damage, a type of damage, an indication of one or more hazards, or an indication of one or more roof features including a solar panel.

“19. The method of claim 16, further comprising: determining, based on the characteristic of the property, a recommended personal for the property, the recommended personal determined based on at least one of a certification or a training that corresponds to the characteristic of the property; and determining, based on the characteristic of the property a required reporting procedure.

“20. The method of claim 16, wherein determining the premium adjustment comprises determining a premium adjustment amount based on at least one of historical repair information, a cost associated with dispatching claim adjusters, or types of equipment needed for inspection purposes.”

For more information, see this patent: Corder, Bryan Keith. Image-based processing for products. U.S. Patent Number 11935130, filed May 23, 2022, and published online on March 19, 2024. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11935130)&db=USPAT&type=ids

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)