Method and system for assessing damage to infrastructure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11069050-B1
Application number	US-201815966086-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Apr 30, 2018
Priority date	Oct 9, 2014
Publication date	Jul 20, 2021
Grant date	Jul 20, 2021

Abstract

A method and system may assess the damage to infrastructure using aerial images captured from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a manned aerial vehicle (MAV) or from a satellite device. Specifically, an item of infrastructure may be identified for assessing damage. The UAV, MAV, or satellite device may then capture aerial images within an area which surrounds the identified infrastructure item. Subsequently, the aerial images may be analyzed to determine a condition and the extent and/or severity of the damage to the infrastructure item. Furthermore, the aerial images along with indications of the extent of the damage may be displayed on a computing device, where one indication of the severity of the damage surrounds another indication of the severity of the damage on the display.

First claim

We claim:

1. A computer-implemented method for assessing damage to an insured property, the method executed by one or more processors programmed to perform the method, the method comprising:
receiving, at the one or more processors, one or more aerial images that display an insured property, each of the one or more aerial images comprising a plurality of data points;
identifying, by the one or more processors, a secondary object within at least one of the one or more aerial images that is different from the insured property and is defined by a plurality of unwanted data points;
filtering, by the one or more processors, the at least one of the one or more aerial images to remove the plurality of unwanted data points from a respective plurality of data points;
determining, by the one or more processors, a condition of the insured property based upon the filtered one or more aerial images;
determining, by the one or more processors, a type of at least a portion of the insured property; and
determining, by the one or more processors, a damage severity level of the at least a portion of the insured property based upon the condition and the type of the at least a portion of the insured property.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , the method further comprising:
assigning, by the one or more processors, a damage severity level indicator to the at least a portion of the insured property based upon the damage severity level; and
displaying, by the one or more processors, the insured property and the damage severity level indicator on a user interface.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the condition of the at least a portion of the insured property is a present condition and determining a damage severity level includes:
determining, by the one or more processors, a past condition of the at least a portion of the insured property, wherein the past condition is based upon one or more aerial images corresponding to the insured property which were captured before the insured property was affected by a natural or man-made disaster;
comparing, by the one or more processors, the present condition to the past condition of the at least a portion of the insured property; and
determining, by the one or more processors, the damage severity level for the at least a portion of the insured property based upon the comparison between the present and the past conditions.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
directing, by the one or more processors, the aerial image capturing device to one or more locations for capturing a plurality of aerial images.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more aerial images are received via a satellite.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the at least a portion of the insured property includes at least one of: a window, a door, a roof, siding, an exterior wall, a garage, a backyard, a swimming pool, a lawn, a foundation, a driveway, a fence, a tree, a deck, or a patio.

7. The computer-implemented of claim 1 , wherein determining a damage severity level includes:
determining, by the one or more processors, a plurality of damage severity level categories;
assigning, by the one or more processors, a different damage severity level indicator to each of the plurality of damage severity level categories;
identifying, by the one or more processors, a damage severity level indicator of the plurality of damage severity level categories for the at least a portion of the insured property that corresponds to the damage severity level category for the at least a portion of the insured property based upon the damage severity level of the at least a portion of the insured property; and
overlaying, by the one or more processors, the identified damage severity level indicator on the displayed one or more aerial images that correspond to the at least a portion of the insured property on the user interface.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein a natural or man-made disaster that causes damage to the insured property includes at least one of a tornado, a hurricane, an avalanche, an earthquake, a flood, a tsunami, a volcanic eruption, a hail storm, a wildfire, a thunderstorm, a nuclear incident, a war or an act of terrorism.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, by the one or more processors, a claim amount for the insured property based upon the damage severity level of the at least a portion of the insured property before an owner of the at least one insured property files an insurance claim.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 , wherein determining a claim amount includes pre-filling at least one form associated with the insurance claim for the insured property.

11. A computer system for assessing damage to insured properties in a neighborhood, the system comprising:
one or more processors;
a user interface;
a communication network; and
a non-transitory computer-readable memory coupled to the one or more processors, the user interface, and the communication network, and storing thereon instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to:
receive one or more aerial images from an aerial image capturing device that display an insured property, each of the one or more aerial images comprising a plurality of data points;
identify a secondary object within at least one of the one or more aerial images that is different from the insured property and is defined by a plurality of unwanted data points;
filter the at least one of the one or more aerial images to remove the plurality of unwanted data points from a respective plurality of data points;
determine a condition of at least a portion of the insured property based upon the filtered one or more aerial images,
determine a type of the at least a portion of the insured property; and
determine a damage severity level of the at least a portion of the insured property based upon the condition and the type of the at least a portion of the insured property.

12. The computer system of claim 11 , the instructions further cause the system to, when executed by the one or more processors:
assign a damage severity level indicator to the at least a portion of the insured property based upon the damage severity level; and
display the insured property and the damage severity level indicator on the user interface.

13. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the condition of the at least a portion of the insured property is a present condition and to determine a damage severity level, the instructions cause the system to:
determine a past condition of the at least a portion of the insured property, wherein the past condition is based upon one or more aerial images corresponding to the insured property which were captured before the insured property was affected by a natural or man-made disaster;
compare the present condition to the past condition of the at least a portion of the insured property; and
determine the damage severity level for the at least a portion of the insured property based upon the comparison between the present and the past conditions.

14. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions further cause the system to:
direct the aerial image capturing device to one or more locations for capturing the one or more aerial images.

15. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more aerial images are received via a satellite.

16. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the at least a p

Assignees

• State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co

Inventors

• Harvey Brian N
• Tofte Nathan L
• Schmidgall Roger D
• Aviles Michael Jeffrey
• Pott Kyle
• Grant Rosemarie Geier
• Haefli Eric
• Jacob Michael Shawn

Classifications

• G06V20/176 Primary

  Urban or other man-made structures · CPC title

• G06T7/0004 Primary

  Industrial image inspection · CPC title

• G06F18/24

  Classification techniques · CPC title

• G06V20/182

  Network patterns, e.g. roads or rivers · CPC title

• G06T2207/10036

  Multispectral image; Hyperspectral image · CPC title