Disaster damage analysis and loss mitigation implementing unmanned aerial vehicles (uavs)

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2021192629-A1
Application number	US-201514858034-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 18, 2015
Priority date	Sep 22, 2014
Publication date	Jun 24, 2021
Grant date	—

Abstract

Various techniques are described utilizing one or more unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or “drones”) for various disaster and/or catastrophe-related purposes. UAVs may collect data in an attempt to predict the occurrence and/or extent of a catastrophe and/or to mitigate the impact of a catastrophe before and, if not at that time, once it has occurred. The UAVs may perform various tasks such that the damage to property caused by a catastrophe (or potential catastrophe) may be eliminated or mitigated. The drone data may be transmitted by the UAVs to an external computing device, which may be associated with an insurer and used, with an insured's permission, to begin and/or facilitate an insurance claim process or other various insurance-related tasks. Damage to insured property may be estimated from the drone data, and proposed or estimated insurance claims may be generated for customer review, modification, or approval.

First claim

1 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
receiving, by one or more processors, a request to deploy one or more drones to a location of a structure; directing, by the one or more processors, the one or more drones to the structure's location in response to the request to collect drone data; receiving, by the one or more processors, the drone data via wireless communications, the drone data being generated by the one or more drones and including infrared data and a pre-catastrophe and a post-catastrophe image of the structure prior to and subsequent to an occurrence of a catastrophe at the structure's location, respectively, wherein the structure is covered by an insurance policy issued by an insurance provider to an insured customer; comparing, by the one or more processors, the pre-catastrophe image and the post catastrophe image; generating, by the one or more processors, one or more quantified differences based upon the comparison of the pre-catastrophe image and the post-catastrophe image using a photogrammetric analysis; determining, by the one or more processors, whether the one or more quantified differences exceed a respective threshold value to be identified as one or more damages to the structure; determining, in response to determining that the one or more quantified differences exceed the respective threshold value and by the one or more processors, a monetary estimate of damage incurred by the catastrophe based upon the one or more identified damages to the structure; identifying, by the one or more processors, an insured or insured asset at the location at risk or in danger due to the catastrophe based upon an analysis of the drone data including the infrared data; and in response to identifying the insured or insured asset that is at risk or in danger, directing, by the one or more processors, delivery of disaster assistance via the one or more drones to the insured or insured asset including providing information to the insured on how to respond to the catastrophe and directing emergency responders to the insured or insured asset.

2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transferring, by the one or more processors, a reserve amount of money into an insurer account based upon the estimate of damage in anticipation of insurance claims being filed.

3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, by the one or more processors, an insurance claim submitted by the insured customer, the insurance claim including a claim amount; comparing, by the one or more processors, the monetary estimate of damage incurred by the catastrophe to the claim amount; and flagging, by the one or more processors, the insurance claim for further investigation when the monetary estimate of damage and the claim amount differ in excess of an error threshold.

4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the drone data includes data associated with one or more variables outside of the structure indicative of a level of risk of damage to the structure in the event of a future catastrophe, and further comprising:
analyzing, by the one or more processors, the drone data to assess the level of risk; and notifying, by the one or more processors, the insured customer of one or more options to reduce the level of risk.

5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , wherein the one or more variables include a distance between the structure and vegetation outside the structure.

6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , wherein the act of notifying the insured customer includes sending a notification to a mobile computing device associated with the insured customer, and
wherein the one or more options to reduce the level of risk included in the notification include recommending a minimum distance between the structure and vegetation outside the structure to mitigate wildfire risk based upon the distance between the structure and vegetation outside the structure.

7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the drone data includes video data of the structure, and further comprising:
analyzing, by the one or more processors, video data of the structure to identify activity associated with a fraudulent insurance claim.

8 . A server associated with an insurance provider, comprising:
a communication unit configured to receive a request to deploy one or more drones to a location of a structure, direct the one or more drones to the structure's location in response to the request to collect data, and receive the drone data via wireless communications, the drone data being generated by the one or more drones and including infrared data and a pre-catastrophe and a post-catastrophe image of the structure prior to and subsequent to an occurrence of a catastrophe at the structure's location, respectively, wherein the structure is covered by an insurance policy issued by an insurance provider to an insured customer, and a processor configured to:
compare the pre-catastrophe image and the post-catastrophe image,
generate one or more quantified differences based upon the comparison of the pre-catastrophe image and the post-catastrophe image using a photogrammetric analysis,
determine evaluate whether the one or more quantified differences exceed a respective threshold value to be identified as one or more damages to the structure,
determine, in response to a determination that the one or more quantified differences exceed the respective threshold value, a monetary estimate of damage incurred by the catastrophe based upon the one or more identified damages to the structure, and
identify an insured or insured asset at the location at risk or in danger due to the catastrophe based upon an analysis of the drone data including the infrared data, and
in response to identifying the insured or insured asset that is at risk or in danger, direct, via wireless communication, delivery of disaster assistance via the one or more drones to the insured or insured asset including providing information to the insured on how to respond to the catastrophe and directing emergency responders to the insured or insured asset.

9 . The server of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to transfer a reserve amount of money into an insurer account based upon the estimate of damage in anticipation of insurance claims being filed.

10 . The server of claim 8 , wherein the communication unit is further configured to receive an insurance claim submitted by the insured customer, the insurance claim including a claim amount, and
wherein the processor is further configured to compare the monetary estimate of damage incurred by the catastrophe to the claim amount and to flag the insurance claim for further investigation when the monetary estimate of damage and the claim amount differ in excess of an error threshold.

11 . The server of claim 8 , wherein:
the drone data includes data associated with one or more variables outside of the structure indicative of a level of risk of damage to the structure in the event of a future catastrophe, the processor is further configured to analyze the drone data to assess the level of risk the communication unit is further configured to send a notification to the insured customer of one or more options to reduce the level of risk.

12 . The server of claim 11 , wherein the one or more variables include a distance between the structure and vegetation outside the structure.

13 . The server of claim 12 , wherein the notification is sent to a mobile computing device associated with the insured customer, and
wherein the one or more options to reduce

Assignees

• State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co

Inventors

• Tofte Nathan L
• Ryan Timothy W
• Baumann Nathan W
• Jacob Michael Shawn
• Lillie Joshua David
• Harvey Brian N
• Lyons Roxane
• Grant Rosemarie Geier

Classifications

• G06F18/22

  Matching criteria, e.g. proximity measures · CPC title

• B64U2101/30

  for imaging, photography or videography · CPC title

• B64D47/08

  Arrangements of cameras · CPC title

• B64C39/024

  of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV · CPC title

• B64U10/00

  Type of UAV · CPC title