Image capturing and automatic labeling system
First Claim
1. A method of recording damage to a vehicle, the method comprising:
- presenting, at a user interface of a mobile computing device, a plurality of user controls, wherein each user control of the plurality of user controls indicates a respective portion of the vehicle and includes a pre-assigned identifier that (a) is expressed in a non-natural language, the non-natural language being a computer-readable language having a particular syntax and format, (b) identifies the respective portion of the vehicle, and (c) is not presented on the user interface, and the plurality of user controls is a specific template of a plurality of templates of user controls, each template of the plurality of templates defined to meet a different set of jurisdictional requirements;
receiving, at the user interface of the mobile computing device, a selection of a particular user control included in the plurality of user controls, the selected, particular user control indicative of a particular portion of the vehicle, the particular portion of the vehicle excluding a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) or other unique identifier of the vehicle;
launching an image capturing system of the mobile computing device;
obtaining a first image of the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) or other unique identifier of the vehicle, the first image captured by the image capturing system;
image processing the first image to identify the VIN or other unique identifier of the vehicle;
obtaining a second image of the particular portion of the vehicle indicated by the selected, particular user control, the second image captured by the image capturing system; and
causing the captured second image and metadata indicative of attributes corresponding to the captured second image to be transmitted to a data storage system that is configured to store information corresponding to vehicle damage, the attributes corresponding to the captured second image including (i) the pre-assigned identifier corresponding to the particular user control and to the particular portion of the vehicle, and (ii) the identified VIN or other unique identifier of the vehicle, thereby labeling the captured second image of the particular portion of the vehicle with the pre-assigned identifier corresponding to the particular portion of the vehicle and with the identified VIN or other unique identifier of the vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle image capture and labeling system operates to enable a user to capture vehicle photos, pictures, and/or images that are automatically labeled, i.e., annotated. In particular, the captured vehicle photos, pictures, or images are automatically labeled with certain vehicle identifier information, like a vehicle identification number (VIN), and pose information, that identifies a portion or view of the vehicle depicted within the image of the vehicle. The vehicle images may also be automatically labeled with one or more other image attributes or indicia, such as geospatial information corresponding to a location at which the photo or image was captured (e.g., global positioning system (GPS) data), time and date of image capture data, etc. The captured vehicle image and its label(s) may then be stored and used by other applications such as vehicle insurance claim applications, automobile repair estimate applications, etc.
168 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method of recording damage to a vehicle, the method comprising:
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presenting, at a user interface of a mobile computing device, a plurality of user controls, wherein each user control of the plurality of user controls indicates a respective portion of the vehicle and includes a pre-assigned identifier that (a) is expressed in a non-natural language, the non-natural language being a computer-readable language having a particular syntax and format, (b) identifies the respective portion of the vehicle, and (c) is not presented on the user interface, and the plurality of user controls is a specific template of a plurality of templates of user controls, each template of the plurality of templates defined to meet a different set of jurisdictional requirements; receiving, at the user interface of the mobile computing device, a selection of a particular user control included in the plurality of user controls, the selected, particular user control indicative of a particular portion of the vehicle, the particular portion of the vehicle excluding a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) or other unique identifier of the vehicle; launching an image capturing system of the mobile computing device; obtaining a first image of the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) or other unique identifier of the vehicle, the first image captured by the image capturing system; image processing the first image to identify the VIN or other unique identifier of the vehicle; obtaining a second image of the particular portion of the vehicle indicated by the selected, particular user control, the second image captured by the image capturing system; and causing the captured second image and metadata indicative of attributes corresponding to the captured second image to be transmitted to a data storage system that is configured to store information corresponding to vehicle damage, the attributes corresponding to the captured second image including (i) the pre-assigned identifier corresponding to the particular user control and to the particular portion of the vehicle, and (ii) the identified VIN or other unique identifier of the vehicle, thereby labeling the captured second image of the particular portion of the vehicle with the pre-assigned identifier corresponding to the particular portion of the vehicle and with the identified VIN or other unique identifier of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A system for recording damage to a vehicle, the system comprising:
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an image attribute capturer, the image attribute capturer comprising one or more tangible, non-transitory memories storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the system to; present, at a user interface, a plurality of user controls, wherein each user control of the plurality of user controls indicates a respective portion of the vehicle and includes a pre-assigned identifier that (a) is expressed in a non-natural language, the non-natural language being a computer-readable language having a particular syntax and format, (b) identifies the respective portion of the vehicle, and (c) is not presented on the user interface, and the plurality of user controls is a specific template of a plurality of templates of user controls, each template of the plurality of templates defined to meet a different set of jurisdictional requirements; receive a first captured image of a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) or other unique identifier of the vehicle; image-process the first captured image to determine the VIN or other unique identifier of the vehicle; receive, at the user interface, a selection of a particular user control included in the plurality of user controls, the selected, particular user control indicative of a particular portion of the vehicle from which the VIN or other unique identifier of the vehicle is excluded; receive a second captured image of the particular portion of the vehicle corresponding to the selected, particular user control; and cause the second captured image and metadata indicative of attributes corresponding to the second captured image to be transmitted to a data storage system that is configured to store information corresponding to vehicle damage, the attributes corresponding to the second captured image including (i) the pre-assigned identifier corresponding to the particular user control and the particular portion of the vehicle, and (ii) the identified VIN or other unique identifier of the vehicle, thereby labeling the captured second image of the particular portion of the vehicle with the pre-assigned identifier corresponding to the particular portion of the vehicle and with the identified VIN or other unique identifier of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method of creating an electronic image of a subject, the method comprising:
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presenting, via a user interface of a mobile computing device having a computer processor, a plurality of user controls, wherein each user control of the plurality of user controls corresponds to a respective portion of the subject, the plurality of user controls is a specific template of a plurality of templates of user controls, and each template of the plurality of templates is defined to meet a different set of jurisdictional requirements; receiving, via the user interface of the mobile computing device interacting with the computer processor, a selection of a particular user control included in the plurality of user controls, the selected, particular user control indicative of a particular portion of the subject from which a unique identifier of the subject is excluded; launching, using the computer processor, an image capturing system on the mobile computing device; receiving, using the computer processor, a first electronic image of the unique identifier of the subject, the first electronic image captured by the image capturing system; image processing, using the computer processor, the first electronic image to determine the unique identifier of the subject; receiving, using the computer processor, a second electronic image captured by the image capturing system and including an image of the particular portion of the subject corresponding to the selected, particular user control; and causing, using the computer processor, the captured second electronic image and metadata indicative of attributes corresponding to the captured second electronic image to be stored in a data storage system, the attributes corresponding to the captured second electronic image including (i) a pre-assigned identifier that corresponds to the selected, particular user control and identifies the particular portion of the subject, is expressed in a non-natural language that is a computer-readable language having a particular syntax and format, and is not presented on the user interface of the mobile computing device, and (ii) the determined unique identifier of the subject, thereby automatically labeling the captured second electronic image with the pre-assigned identifier corresponding to the particular portion of the subject and with the unique identifier of the subject. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39)
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Specification