“Virtual Reality Visualization System With Object Recommendation Engine” in Patent Application Approval Process (USPTO 20240005388): Allstate Insurance Company

2024 JAN 22 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent application by the inventors Gore, Caleb Brian Slaughter (Buffalo Grove, IL, US); Reif, Colton J. (Winfield, IL, US), filed on August 14, 2023, was made available online on January 4, 2024, according to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by NewsRx correspondents.

This patent application is assigned to Allstate Insurance Company (Northbrook, Illinois, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Virtual reality systems may provide a user with a virtual environment based on a real-world environment. Virtual reality systems may provide a user interface allowing a user to interact with the virtual environment. For example, the user may manipulate electronic representations of objects in the virtual environment. Virtual reality user interfaces may be displayed on display interfaces such as user computing devices.

“Some companies offer tools that generate a virtual room and allow customers to place virtual objects in the virtual room to see how they may be arranged in the virtual room. Once a customer has configured their virtual room to their liking using products sold by the store, the customer may be able to purchase the real-world counterparts to the virtual objects and install them in their home.

“When a home or other structure is damaged, homeowners may submit claims under homeowner’s insurance policies that cover the damage. As part of these claims, homeowners may seek reimbursement or replacement of damaged items and/or appliances in the home. The homeowner may fill out a claim form listing the damaged items and an insurer may evaluate the damage against the coverage of an insurance policy. The insurer may provide reimbursement in the form of a settlement, allowing the homeowner to purchase replacement items at a local retailer.

“Although existing tools may allow users to view a virtual room and place virtual objects therein, significant difficulties exist in accurately representing a real-world room on a virtual reality system. Further, the user experience may suffer in instances where the system provides users an uncurated catalog of virtual objects for inclusion in the room, potentially overwhelming the user with choices. Further still, users are often unaware of the impact that the installation of new objects in a home may have on premiums associated with homeowner’s insurance policies.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent application, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “Aspects of the disclosure relate to virtual reality systems (and/or augmented reality systems) that facilitate visualization of replacement and/or additional items for rebuilding a damaged room. The system may provide a virtual representation of a subject real-world room. A user may select items, such as appliances and furniture, for placement in the virtual room and the system may update the virtual room to include a representation of the items. In some embodiments, the system may utilize information about the user to provide recommendations regarding items that may be placed in a virtual room. For example, the system may utilize one or more service records to identify items covered under a service associated with the user. In some embodiments, the system may apply a monetary settlement to the cost of the real-world items to facilitate the replacement of damaged items.

“A virtual reality visualization system may generate a virtual room corresponding to a real-world room and cause the virtual room to be displayed on a display interface. The virtual room may be generated based on information about the real-world room, such as dimensions, location, objects therein, and/or other attributes of the real-world room. The system may gather visual and/or sensory information from the real-world room using cameras and other sensors and determine the attributes of the room based on the gathered information. For example, the system may determine a set of dimensions for the room based on image data captured by a camera of a user device.

“Insured users may submit claims for damage to objects in the room covered by a service, such as an insurance policy. Where the damage justifies replacing the object, the insurer may provide an appropriate settlement amount to the insured covering costs associated with a replacement object and/or compensating the insured for their loss. The virtual reality visualization system may receive claim information including an identification of prior objects that occupied the real-world room and were subject to damage or otherwise merit replacement and an associated settlement amount.

“The virtual reality visualization system may allow users to select replacement objects from a catalog of objects and present a representation of selected objects in the virtual room. According to some aspects, the system may recommend replacement objects based on the prior objects and/or based on attributes of the user and associated insurance policies. In some embodiments, the system may recommend comparable alternative objects based on attributes of the prior objects. In other embodiments, the system may select alternative objects for inclusion in a list of recommended objects based on determining an impact that object may have on a premium for an insurance policy associated with the user. The list of recommended replacement objects may be presented to the user on the display interface to facilitate selection of replacement objects for inclusion in the virtual room.

“In some embodiments, the system may further facilitate the user’s review and selection of replacement objects by providing an indication of an impact the object may have on an insurance policy associated with the user. According to some aspects, the system may determine a change in premium associated with a replacement object.

“The virtual reality visualization system may receive user input from the user selecting one or more replacement objects, such as a recommended replacement object from the list of recommendations. The system may update the virtual room to include a virtual representation of the selected object. The user may continue selecting objects and the system may continue updating the virtual room until the user is satisfied with the state of the virtual room and the object representations therein. Thus, users may be able to virtually rebuild a room in the event of damage and may be provided with a visualization of how the real-world room may look after installation of the selected replacement objects.

“The system may facilitate the purchase of the replacement objects by placing an order with a third-party for the replacement objects and may apply the balance of the settlement amount towards the purchase. Replacement objects may have an associated price, and the system may dynamically update the remaining settlement amount as the user selects and/or removes replacement objects. Once the user is satisfied with the state of the virtual room and the selected replacement objects, the system may generate and transmit an order for the selected replacement objects.

“The system may, in some embodiments, be implemented utilizing augmented reality techniques such as smart glasses that may project virtual objects onto a field of vision of a user. These techniques may create the appearance that the virtual objects are present in a real-world room or other real-world environment. The system may use augmented reality techniques to display the virtual representations of selected objects such that they appear to the user to be placed in the real-world room, similarly to the virtual reality embodiments described above.

“These features, along with many others, are discussed in greater detail below.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A method comprising: storing, by a first data source of a visualization device: room information corresponding to a real room, wherein the room information comprises dimensions of the real room and an existing object listing of one or more existing objects associated with the real room; and records associated with the existing object listing; generating, by the visualization device, a user interface displayed to a user via a display interface and comprising the existing object listing, wherein the user interface comprises one or more of: a virtual reality user interface comprising a virtual representation of the real room, wherein a size of the virtual representation of the real room is based on the dimensions of the real room; and an augmented reality user interface dynamically overlaid on a user’s live view of the real room based at least in part on the dimensions of the real room; generating a recommendation based at least in part on the existing object listing and one or more of: a determined improvement in safety for the real room; a determined change in insurance premium for the user; and the records associated with the existing object listing, wherein the recommendation comprises one or more of purchasing a new object, a reminder regarding maintenance of an object in the existing object listing, or a suggestion regarding replacement of at least a part of the object in the existing object listing; receiving, by the visualization device, a selection regarding the recommendation from the user; and updating the user interface to include a virtual representation of the recommendation overlaid on the virtual representation of the real room or the user’s live view of the real room.

“2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the recommendation further comprises generating a new object listing regarding at least one new object for the real room based at least in part: determining whether the at least one new object fits in the real room at a location based on the dimensions of the real room; and determining that the at least one new object will reduce the user’s insurance premium.

“3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving an indication of the location in the real room for the at least one new object, wherein updating the user interface to include a virtual representation of the at least one new object comprises placing the virtual representation of the at least one new object such that the virtual representation of the at least one new object appears to be at the location in the user’s live view of the real room or the virtual representation of the real room.

“4. The method of claim 2, wherein generating the recommendation further comprises determining that maintenance of the object in the existing object listing based upon determining that the at least one new object will reduce the user’s insurance premium.

“5. The method of claim 1, wherein the existing object listing is received from a digital locker database configured to store information regarding one or more existing objects reported by the user.

“6. The method of claim 1, generating the recommendation further comprises generating a replacement object listing based at least in part on the existing object listing comprises: determining one or more replacement objects associated with a given existing object of the one or more existing objects; for each of the one or more replacement objects, determining a change in the insurance premium for a service associated with the user based on attributes of a given replacement object relative to attributes of the given existing object; and selecting a recommended replacement object of the one or more replacement objects for inclusion in the replacement object listing based on the determined changes in insurance premiums for the one or more replacement objects.

“7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a change in the insurance premium for a service associated with the user based on the recommendation; and causing a display of the change in the insurance premium to the user.

“8. A system comprising: a display interface in communication with a visualization device, wherein the display interface is configured to present a graphical user interface dynamically overlaid on a user’s live view of a real room or a virtual representation of the real room, wherein the graphical user interface comprises a recommendation having one or more of a suggestion for a new object, a reminder regarding maintenance of an object in the existing object listing, or the suggestion regarding replacement of at least a part of an object in the real room, wherein the visualization device comprises: one or more processors; a first data source configured to store room information corresponding to the real room, wherein the room information comprises dimensions of the real room and an existing object listing of one or more existing objects associated with the real room; and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the visualization device to: generate the user interface overlaid on the user’s live view of the real room, or the virtual representation of the real room, based at least in part on the dimensions of the real room; generate the recommendation based at least in part on the existing object listing and one or more of: a determined improvement in safety for the real room; a determined change in insurance premium for the user; and records associated with the existing object listing, wherein the recommendation comprises one or more of purchasing the new object, the reminder regarding maintenance of an object in the existing object listing, or the suggestion regarding replacement of at least a part of the object in the existing object listing; determine a change in the insurance premium for the recommendation; and update the user interface to include a virtual representation of the recommendation overlaid on the virtual representation of the real room or the user’s live view of the real room.

“9. The system of claim 8, wherein generating the recommendation further comprises generating a new object listing regarding at least one new object for the real room based at least in part: determining whether the at least one new object fits in the real room at a location based on the dimensions of the real room; and determining that the at least one new object will reduce the user’s insurance premium.

“10. The system of claim 9, further comprising: receiving an indication of the location in the real room for the at least one new object, wherein updating the user interface to include a virtual representation of the at least one new object comprises placing the virtual representation of the at least one new object such that the virtual representation of the at least one new object appears to be at the location in the user’s live view of the real room or the virtual representation of the real room.

“11. The system of claim 9, wherein generating the recommendation further comprises determining that maintenance of the object in the existing object listing based upon determining that the at least one new object will reduce the user’s insurance premium.

“12. The system of claim 8, wherein the instructions further cause the visualization device to: receive user input comprising an indication of a location in the real room for a first replacement object, wherein the instructions cause the visualization device to update the user interface to include a virtual representation of the first replacement object by causing the visualization device to place the virtual representation of the first replacement object such that the virtual representation of the at least one new object appears to be at the location in the user’s live view of the real room or the virtual representation of the real room.

“13. The system of claim 12, wherein the instructions cause the visualization device to generate the replacement object listing based at least in part on the existing object listing by causing the visualization device to: determine whether a given replacement object fits in the real room at the location based on the dimensions of the real room.

“14. The system of claim 13, wherein the instructions further cause the visualization device to: determine the change in the insurance premium for a service associated with the user based on the selection of the first replacement object; and cause a display of the change in the insurance premium to the user.”

There are additional claims. Please visit full patent to read further.

URL and more information on this patent application, see: Gore, Caleb Brian Slaughter; Reif, Colton J. Virtual Reality Visualization System With Object Recommendation Engine. U.S. Patent Application Number 20240005388, filed August 14, 2023 and posted January 4, 2024. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(20240005388)&db=US-PGPUB&type=ids

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