System, Method, and Computer-Readable Medium for Comparing Automatically Determined Crash Information to Historical Collision Data to Estimate Repair Costs

Abstract

An example method for estimating vehicle repair costs includes receiving, via one or more sensors coupled to a damaged vehicle involved in a crash, crash information of the damaged vehicle, the crash information including vehicle operating information of the damaged vehicle; analyzing the crash information with respective collision data of a vehicle type that includes or is similar to the vehicle type of the damaged vehicle, the analyzing including comparing at least one of a velocity or an acceleration included in the vehicle operating information to vehicle operating characteristics indicated by the respective collision data of the vehicle type; determining one or more damaged vehicle parts of the damaged vehicle based on the analyzed crash information; determining a cost estimate to repair the damaged vehicle based on the one or more damaged vehicle parts; and transmitting an indication of the cost estimate.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A method for estimating vehicle repair costs, the method executed in part by one or more processors programmed to perform the method, the method comprising:
 receiving, by the one or more processors via one or more sensors coupled to a damaged vehicle involved in a crash, crash information of the damaged vehicle, the crash information including vehicle operating information of the damaged vehicle, the crash information collected by the one or more sensors, including an accelerometer;   analyzing, by the one or more processors, the crash information with respective collision data of a vehicle type that includes or is similar to the vehicle type of the damaged vehicle, the analyzing including comparing at least one of a velocity or an acceleration included in the vehicle operating information to vehicle operating characteristics indicated by the respective collision data of the vehicle type;   determining, by the one or more processors, one or more damaged vehicle parts of the damaged vehicle based on the analyzed crash information;   determining, by the one or more processors, a cost estimate to repair the damaged vehicle based on the one or more damaged vehicle parts; and   transmitting, by the one or more processors, an indication of the cost estimate.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the cost estimate includes:
 compiling a list of replacement vehicle parts based on the determined one or more damaged vehicle parts of the damaged vehicle; and   determining the cost estimate based on the list of replacement parts.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the cost estimate includes:
 determining a type of treatment for each damaged vehicle part of the determined one or more damaged vehicle parts.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the cost estimate includes:
 determining a treatment complexity level associated with treating the damaged vehicle based on the received crash information and the determined one or more damaged vehicle parts.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the treatment complexity level includes a time duration for completing treatment of the damaged vehicle. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the treatment complexity level indicates whether the damaged vehicle is a total loss. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 determining, by the one or more processors, based on the treatment complexity level, a vehicle treatment facility capable of treating the damaged vehicle; and   transmitting, by the one or more processors, an indication of the vehicle treatment facility.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein receiving the crash information includes:
 receiving, from a computing device coupled to the one or more sensors, the crash information, the computing device configured to transmit the crash information to the one or more processors automatically in response to the crash.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 receiving the crash information further includes receiving one or more images of the damaged vehicle; and   analyzing the crash information further includes comparing the one or more images included in the crash information to stored images included in the respective collision data of the vehicle type.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein receiving the crash information includes:
 receiving an indication of whether emergency response equipment of the damaged vehicle was deployed due to the crash.   
     
     
         11 . A system for estimating vehicle repair costs, the system comprising:
 a computing device including one or more processors; and   one or more memory devices coupled to the one or more processors of the computing device, the one or more memory devices storing executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors of the computing device cause the system to:   receive, via one or more sensors coupled to a damaged vehicle involved in a crash, crash information of the damaged vehicle, the crash information including vehicle operating information of the damaged vehicle, the crash information collected by the one or more sensors, including an accelerometer;   analyze the crash information with respective collision data of a vehicle type that includes or is similar to the vehicle type of the damaged vehicle, the analyzing including comparing at least one of a velocity or an acceleration included in the vehicle operating information to vehicle operating characteristics indicated by the respective collision data of the vehicle type;   determine one or more damaged vehicle parts of the damaged vehicle based on the analyzed crash information;   determine a cost estimate to repair the damaged vehicle based on the one or more damaged vehicle parts; and   transmit an indication of the cost estimate.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein, to determine the cost estimate, the executable instructions cause the system to:
 compile a list of replacement vehicle parts based on the determined one or more damaged vehicle parts of the damaged vehicle; and   determine the cost estimate based on the list of replacement parts.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein, to determine the cost estimate, the executable instructions cause the system to:
 determine a type of treatment for each damaged vehicle part of the determined one or more damaged vehicle parts.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein, to determine the cost estimate, the executable instructions cause the system to:
 determine a treatment complexity level associated with treating the damaged vehicle based on the received crash information and the determined one or more damaged vehicle parts.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the treatment complexity level includes a time duration for completing treatment of the damaged vehicle. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the treatment complexity level indicates whether the damaged vehicle is a total loss. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the executable instructions further cause the system to:
 determine, based on the treatment complexity level, a vehicle treatment facility capable of treating the damaged vehicle; and   transmit an indication of the vehicle treatment facility.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the computing device is a first computing device, and wherein, to receive the crash information, the executable instructions cause the system to:
 receive, from a second computing device coupled to the one or more sensors, the crash information, the second computing device configured to transmit the crash information to the one or more processors automatically in response to the crash.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the crash information includes one or more images of the damaged vehicle, and wherein, to analyze the crash information, the executable instructions further cause the system to:
 analyze the crash information by comparing the one or more images included in the crash information to stored images included in the respective collision data of the vehicle type.   
     
     
         20 . A tangible, computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by one or more processors of a computer system cause the computer system to:
 receive, via one or more sensors coupled to a damaged vehicle involved in a crash, crash information of the damaged vehicle, the crash information including vehicle operating information of the damaged vehicle, the crash information collected by the one or more sensors, including an accelerometer;   analyze the crash information with respective collision data of a vehicle type that includes or is similar to the vehicle type of the damaged vehicle, the analyzing including comparing at least one of a velocity or an acceleration included in the vehicle operating information to vehicle operating characteristics indicated by the respective collision data of the vehicle type;   determine one or more damaged vehicle parts of the damaged vehicle based on the analyzed crash information;   determine a cost estimate to repair the damaged vehicle based on the one or more damaged vehicle parts; and   transmit an indication of the cost estimate.