US company Allstate Insurance has applied for a patent of a system that can produce an augmented reality visualisation of crash scenes, according to a patent published March 5.
The technology presents a range of questions over the future of automotive insurance claims and how the added accident information technology will work with the repair industry that then works on the cars.
However, the company claims it can speed up the post-accident process and may also provide the repair industry with preventative information on damaged vehicles.
According to Repairer Driven News, the device would allow users to correspond with vehicles, real-world locations, and other objects, such as trees, the patent says. It also can include weather and the time of day.
“The accident re-creation system provides the capability to re-create the accident site on a mobile device before or soon after leaving the scene utilising augmented reality,” the patent says.
“Multiple users, such as other witnesses, other drivers, police officers, etc. may also provide input.”
Claims processing may involve interactions with multiple insurance agents, claims adjusters, and subrogation representatives, the patent says. The process also includes the processing of paperwork, telephone calls, and face-to-face meetings.
“As a result, a significant amount of time can elapse between the time the claim is filed and final settlement of the claim,” the patent says.
“Therefore, a need exists for improved approaches to processing insurance claims in response to a vehicle accident.”
The patent provides multiple ways that the augmented reality scene could be created.
This includes the system receiving video of the accident site from a camera on a user’s mobile device. Users could then select objects to be displayed in the setting. Other data such as vehicle sensor information, dash cameras, and street cameras could be put into the system to recreate the reality, the patent says.
This article was originally published on The National Collision Repairer.