Avis Using AI For Damage Diagnostics
Company to use Ravin technology to improve vehicle inspection process
While not exactly garnering as many headlines as the onset of driverless cars and green vehicle technology, artificial intelligence software specializing in auto inspections is getting to be a big deal, which could turn out to be a large enough cost recovery avenue to improve car rental bottom lines.
Israel’s UVeye recently hooked up with the likes of Toyota and Volvo for development seed money to get its AI-driven inspection software to the commercial viability stage. Not to be outdone, Ravin convinced Shell and even American Traffic Solutions head honcho Adam Draizon that there’s a need for such an innovation, considering that in 2018, more than $28 billion in vehicle damage affected the bank accounts of U.S. based car rental firms.
Now at least one car rental company has taken the initiative to speed up the arrival of vehicle inspection technology by jumping on the Ravin bandwagon. The Avis Budget Group has announced it plans to work with Ravin to ease the hassles associated with vehicle inspection in order to get more accurate readings of fender-benders and wear-and-tear on its fleet.
It’s likely that Avis was impressed over results of a Ravin AI pilot program that took place at Heathrow Airport in London. The system reportedly detected 22 percent more instances of scratches, dents and other types of damage on rental fleets. Additionally, the process was much faster than via a conventional manual inspection of each vehicle.
Ravin’s technology uses closed-circuit TV cameras to conduct 360-degree scans of each vehicle once a renter returns it to the car rental office, employing AI to detect any irregularities that may be present on the vehicle. Not only does the technology assess the damage to the vehicle, it can also determine when a car is due for maintenance, saving additional costs of time-consuming vehicle inspections done manually. It also speeds up the process in handling accident claims.
Ravin’s platform also is a safeguard when it comes to consumer protection as prospective renters can examine a digital readout of the vehicle before taking it out of the lot. Once returned, a comparative scan can eliminate the chances of a consumer being on the hook for damage allegedly taking place while that person was using that vehicle. The service could also be a tool for auto insurance companies who could use such data to determine more realistic rates and policies.
As sold as Avis appears to be on the Ravin product, the company has not announced where and when the innovation will be rolled out.
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