A drive-through system automatically inspects vehicles for dents, leaks, and low tire pressure.
What’s new: General Motors is giving its dealerships an option to install a visual inspection system from UVeye. Volvo struck a similar deal with the Tel Aviv startup in March.
How it works: UVeye’s technology is designed to cut the time it takes to inspect a vehicle from minutes, possibly hours, to seconds. The company offers three systems to be installed on a service center’s premises for an undisclosed subscription fee.
- Atlas is a large arch that identifies dents, scratches, rust, and other cosmetic damage as cars drive through. UVeye also offers a miniature version, Atlas Lite.
- Helios is a floor-mounted array of five cameras that capture an image of a vehicle’s undercarriage as it drives over. It detects damage to the vehicle’s frame, missing parts in the undercarriage, fluid leaks, and problems with braking and exhaust systems.
- Artemis uses two floor-level cameras to scan tires. It identifies the manufacturer, pressure, damage, and tread depth. It also flags mismatched tires.
Behind the news: General Motors and Volvo separately invested undisclosed sums in UVeye, as have Honda, Toyota, and Škoda, a Volkswagen subsidiary. Several General Motors dealers around the U.S. already use its technology for vehicle checkups; the new deal will make it available to all 4,000. Volvo uses UVeye scanners on its assembly lines and offers incentives to dealerships to use them as well.
Why it matters: A computer vision system that completes inspections in seconds can free mechanics to focus on more critical tasks, help dealers evaluate trade-ins, and give customers confidence that service stations are addressing real issues.
We’re thinking: Autonomous driving is the first automotive application for AI that many people think of, but other important tasks are easier to automate. Streamlining routine maintenance is one. Others include assessing insurance claims and optimizing traffic patterns.