Patent Issued for Systems And Methods For Performing A Risk Management Assessment Of A Property (USPTO 10,515,414)

2020 JAN 07 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Technology Business Daily -- Eagle View Technologies Inc. (Redmond, Washington, United States) has been issued patent number 10,515,414, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx editors.

The patent’s inventor is Pershing, Chris (Redmond, WA).

This patent was filed on March 15, 2013 and was published online on January 6, 2020.

From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: “Technical Field

“This invention is in the field of building size estimation, and in particular, building floor area estimation.

“Description of the Related Art

“Building floor area is used throughout the construction, real estate, insurance and finance industries. For example, the square footage measurement of a building is used as a main factor in quickly determining the market value of real estate, estimating costs of materials to repair or replace flooring and make other improvements or modifications to the entire building. Thus, accurate floor area measurements are instrumental in these calculations. Current methods of measuring floor area often involve a person having to visit the building and manually measure particular dimensions within the building, or by referring to original plans or blueprints of the building. Manually measuring the dimensions for verification of building floor area is costly and original plans for the building may be unavailable or out of date. Therefore, accurate methods for estimating and verifying floor area, and for using such floor area estimation and verification in the construction, real estate, insurance and finance industries, which avoid these drawbacks are desirable.”

Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventor’s summary information for this patent: “A subset of building floor area, referred to as total living area (TLA) is used by insurance underwriters (Underwriters) as one component of assessing whether to insure a property, what kind of insurance to provide and at what premium rate. Underwriters also factor in overall condition of the property to be insured which includes, among other things, a visual assessment of the number of buildings such as detached garages and barns on the property; building features such as roofs, chimneys, siding, skylights, windows and doors; items on the property such as recreational vehicles, abandoned cars, and animal pens; and distances from the property to features such as steep ground slopes, water hazards, greenbelt areas, and fire hydrants. In addition, Underwriters may also factor in data from government records pertaining to the property and buildings on it. Current methods of acquiring this information often involve a person having to visit the property and manually measure and inspect the property, or having to visit a location to view original plans or blueprints of the building. Manually measuring total living area (TLA) and manually evaluating property condition is costly, particularly given the high demand for underwriting new policies or reassessing old policies. Therefore accurate methods for estimating TLA and evaluating property conditions that avoid these drawbacks are desirable.

“In one embodiment, a floor area measurement system receives a first and a second aerial image of the building, each of the aerial images providing a different view of the roof of the building. The system correlates the first aerial image with the second aerial image to generate a three-dimensional model of the roof that includes a plurality of planar roof sections that each have a corresponding slope, area, and edges. An adjusted roof model is generated by adjusting a slope of the planar roof sections in the three dimensional model of the roof to substantially zero. This may be performed in a variety of manners, including, in one embodiment, removing particular roof features from the model that would not be present in a flat roof, namely a roof with zero slope. For example, one step is to remove ridge lines or other features distinguishing individual planar roof sections resulting in a virtual fusing of the individual roof sections in the model into one flat roof. This may be performed instead of or in addition to adjusting a slope parameter or variable of each roof section within the roof model to zero. In other embodiments, this step may be performed with just one initial aerial image of the building showing a substantially orthogonal view of the building since roof pitch need not be determined and can be assumed to be zero.

“The system generates the estimated floor area measurement of the building based on the calculated estimated total roof area of the roof after the roof model has been adjusted. This is based on a correlation between the size of the building roof and the size of the building. Typically, the floor area of a single full floor of the building is roughly the size of the roof of the building if the roof were assumed to be flat, namely a slope of zero. This will turn the roof into another floor in the virtual space. With additional adjustments to the roof area measurements to account for multiple floors, roof overhang, wall width, internal building features such as walls and staircases, and/or obstructed views of the building in the aerial image(s), etc., an even more accurate floor area estimation is generated.

“In one embodiment, a floor area measurement estimation system may be a system integrated with a roof estimation system or other system that provides roof measurements. In other embodiments, the roof area measurements may be provided by an external source, system or entity, or may be input manually by an operator of the floor area measurement estimation system. Various received roof measurements may often correspond closely to external dimensions of the building such as the width and length of the building and/or lengths of exterior walls or sections of exterior walls of the building. In another embodiment, the output of the floor area measurement may take the form of an electronic or printed report that includes, but is not limited to geocoding information of the property, images of the property from one or more views, diagrams showing the area and dimensions of living area on different floors.

“One embodiment is a computing system for generating an estimated floor area measurement, the computing system comprising: a memory; a floor area measurement estimation module that is stored on the memory and that is configured, when executed, to: receive one or more aerial images of a roof of a building including a substantially top-down image of the roof; and generate, based at least in part on the received aerial images, an estimated floor area measurement of the building.

“One embodiment is a computer-implemented method for generating an estimated floor area measurement, the method comprising: receiving one or more aerial images of a roof of a building including a substantially top-down image of the roof; using the substantially top-down image of the roof to calculate an estimated total roof area of the roof assuming each section of the roof has no slope; and generating the estimated floor area measurement of the building based on the calculated estimate total roof area of the roof.

“One embodiment is a computer-readable medium whose contents enable a computing system to generate an estimated floor area measurement, by performing a method comprising: receiving one or more aerial images of a roof of a building including a substantially top-down image; using the substantially top-down image to calculate an estimated total roof area of the roof assuming each section of the roof has no slope; using the one or more aerial images of the roof to determine the number of floors of the building that are under the roof; and generating, based at least in part on the estimated total roof area measurement and the number of floors that are under the roof, an estimated floor area measurement of the building.

“One embodiment is a computing system for generating a risk management report, the computer system comprising: a memory; a risk management report module that is stored on the memory and that is configured, when executed, to: receive features and conditions data about a property; receive risk management criteria for the property; and generate, based at least in part on the received features and conditions data and risk management criteria, a risk management report for the property.

“One embodiment is a computer-implemented method for generating a risk management report, the method comprising: receiving features and conditions data about a property; receiving risk management criteria for the property; and generating, based at least in part on the received features and conditions data and risk management criteria, a risk management report for the property.

“One embodiment is a computer-readable medium whose contents enable a computing system to generate an estimated floor area measurement, by performing a method comprising: receiving features and conditions data about a property; receiving risk management criteria for the property; and generating, based at least in part on the received features and conditions data and risk management criteria, a risk management report for the property.

“One embodiment is a computing system for generating a risk management report, the computing system comprising: a memory; a risk management report module that is stored on the memory and that is configured, when executed, to: receive features and conditions data about a property; receive risk management criteria for the property; receive one or more aerial images of a roof of a building on the property including a substantially top-down image of the roof; generate, based at least in part on the received aerial images, an estimated floor area measurement of the building; and generate, based at least in part on the received features and conditions data, estimated floor area measurement of the building and risk management criteria, a risk management report for the property.

“One embodiment is a computer-implemented method for generating a risk management report, the method comprising: receiving features and conditions data about a property; receiving risk management criteria for the property; receiving one or more aerial images of a roof of a building on the property including a substantially top-down image; using the substantially top-down image of the roof to calculate an estimated total roof area of the roof assuming each section of the roof has no slope; using the one or more aerial images of the roof to determine the number of floors of the building that are under the roof; generating, based at least in part on the estimated total roof area measurement and the number of floors that are under the roof, an estimated floor area measurement of the building; and generating, based at least in part on the received features and conditions data, estimated floor area measurement of the building and risk management criteria, a risk management report for the property.

“A computer-readable medium whose contents enable a computing system to generate an estimated floor area measurement, by performing a method comprising: receiving features and conditions data about a property; receiving risk management criteria for the property; receiving one or more aerial images of a roof of a building on the property including a substantially top-down image; using the substantially top-down image of the roof to calculate an estimated total roof area of the roof assuming each section of the roof has no slope; using the one or more aerial images of the roof to determine the number of floors of the building that are under the roof; and generating, based at least in part on the received features and conditions data, estimated floor area measurement of the building and risk management criteria, a risk management report for the property.

“In another embodiment, the output of the floor area measurement may take the form of an electronic or printed report that includes, but is not limited to geocoding information of the property, images of the property from one or more views, diagrams showing the area and dimensions of living area on different floors, number of stories.

“The output of the overall property condition evaluation includes structural observations such as type of structure, corners, estimated roof pitch, roof shape, structure footprint, basement area and basement type; and property observations, such as whether there is building permit, roof or wall report available, distances to commercial exposures or natural hazards, and/or other property observations.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“The invention claimed is:

“1. A computing system for generating an estimated floor area measurement, the computing system comprising: one or more processor; a non-transitory memory; computer executable instructions for floor area measurement estimation stored on the non-transitory memory and that, when executed, cause the one or more processor to: receive a first aerial image of a building having a roof, and a second aerial image of the building from at least one image file database, the first aerial image representing a top-down view of the top of the building, the second aerial image representing a view from a different angle than the top-down view of the building; generate, a three-dimensional computer model of the roof, by analyzing the first aerial image and the second aerial image; determine a total number of stories the building has using the second aerial image of the building; determine, based at least in part on the determined total number of stories of the building and the three-dimensional computer model, an estimated floor area measurement of the building; and output a floor area measurement report having floor area data thereon, the floor area data including the estimated floor area measurement.

“2. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the generating the estimated floor area measurement includes: calculating roof edge measurements assuming each section of the roof has no slope regardless of an actual slope of each section of the roof; using the roof edge measurements to calculate an estimated total roof area of the roof assuming each section of the roof has no slope; and generating the estimated floor area measurement based on the calculated estimated total roof area of the roof.

“3. The computing system of claim 2 wherein the generating the estimated floor area measurement further comprises: subtracting an amount from one or more of the roof edge measurements corresponding to an estimated roof overhang over one or more walls of the building to obtain adjusted roof edge measurements; and generating the estimated floor area measurement based on the adjusted roof edge measurements.

“4. The computing system of claim 2 wherein the generating the estimated floor area measurement further comprises: subtracting an amount from one or more of the adjusted roof edge measurements corresponding to an estimated wall width to obtain adjusted roof edge measurements; and generating the estimated floor area measurement based on the adjusted roof edge measurements.

“5. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the generating the estimated floor area measurement includes: receiving information regarding one or more sections of the roof below which one or more of the stories laterally extends; generating an estimated total roof area of the roof assuming each section of the roof has no slope regardless of an actual slope of each of the roof sections; and generating the estimated floor area measurement based on a total area of the one or more sections of the roof under which the one or more of the stories laterally extends and the generated estimated total roof area of the roof.

“6. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the computer executable instructions for floor area measurement estimation, when executed, further cause the one or more processor to generate and deliver a floor area measurement estimate report that includes one or more aerial images of the building annotated with numerical values that indicate the corresponding estimated floor area measurement.

“7. The computing system of claim 6, wherein the computer executable instructions for floor area measurement estimation, when executed, further cause the one or more processor to generate and deliver a floor area measurement estimate report that is annotated with a floor area measurement and one or more of: slope, area, and length of edges of at least some of a plurality of planar roof sections of the roof.

“8. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the computer executable instructions for floor area measurement estimation, when executed, further cause the one or more processor to deliver the floor area measurement estimate as part of a report including a plurality of floor area measurement estimates for a plurality of buildings in response to a request for a plurality of estimates from a single entity.

“9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium whose contents enable a computing system to generate an estimated floor area measurement, by performing a method comprising: receiving a first and a second aerial image of a building having a roof, the first aerial image being a top-down view of the building and the second aerial image being a view from a different angle than the top-down view such that each of the aerial images providing a different view of the roof of the building; correlating the first aerial image with the second aerial image; determining a total number of stories the building has using the second aerial image of the building; generating, based at least in part on the correlation between the first and second aerial images, a three-dimensional model of the roof that includes a plurality of planar roof sections that each have a corresponding slope, area, and edges; generating an adjusted roof model by adjusting a slope of the planar roof sections in the three-dimensional model of the roof to zero; obtaining an estimated total roof area measurement based on the adjusted roof model; and generating, based at least in part on the estimated total roof area measurement and the determined total number of stories, an estimated floor area measurement of the building.

“10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the generating the estimated floor area measurement of the building includes: subtracting an amount from one or more of roof edge measurements obtained from the adjusted roof model corresponding to an estimated roof overhang over one or more walls of the building to obtain adjusted roof edge measurements; and generating the estimated floor area based on the adjusted roof edge measurements.

“11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the contents further enable a computing system to deliver the estimated floor area in response to a request.

“12. A floor area measurement report produced by a process comprising: receiving a first aerial image of a building, and a second aerial image of the building from at least one image file database, the first aerial image representing a top-down view of the top of the building, the second aerial image representing a view from a different angle than the top-down view of the building; generating a computer model of a roof of the building based on the first aerial image, and the second aerial image; determining a total number of stories the building has using the second aerial image of the building; generating, based at least in part on the generated computer model, and the total number of stories of the building, an estimated floor area measurement of the building; and electronically communicating the estimated floor area measurement.

“13. The floor area measurement report of claim 12 wherein the generating the estimated floor area measurement includes: receiving information regarding one or more sections of the roof below which one or more of the stories laterally extends; generating an estimated total roof area of the roof assuming each section of the roof has no slope regardless of an actual slope of each of the roof sections; and generating the estimated floor area measurement based on a total area of the one or more sections of the roof under which the one or more of the stories laterally extends and the generated estimated total roof area of the roof.”

For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Pershing, Chris. Systems And Methods For Performing A Risk Management Assessment Of A Property. U.S. Patent Number 10,515,414, filed March 15, 2013, and published online on January 6, 2020. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=10,515,414.PN.&OS=PN/10,515,414RS=PN/10,515,414

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