Insurance companies dispatch drones to inspect storm-damaged homes

By Dave Palmer Published September 6, 2016

insurance company uses drones to inspect homes texas drone test high res 02 — Jessica Leigh, Jessica Leigh Photography

Nothing gives a bird’s eye view quite like a drone, and companies are finding creative ways to use the new technology for practical business purposes. The insurance industry is no exception, as homeowners in Texas discovered after filing Homeowners Insurance claims for hail damage.

Texas is known for doing everything bigger, and hailstones are exceptionally large in the Lone Star State. Hailstorms in Texas drop everything from your everyday small hailstone to huge softball-sized chunks of ice that wreak havoc on homes, cars, and unwary pedestrians. San Antonio was the recent recipient of a stream of intense hailstorms that spanned a three-month period.

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Homeowners had roof damage that included holes in their roof big enough to see through, according to Fortune. Roof repair companies in the area struggled to keep up, and insurance agencies scrambled to provide estimates on the damage. Allstate insurance decided that drones could be quicker and more efficient in assessing roof damage than adjusters climbing up on ladders.

As a test case, Allstate used drones to inspect roofs that were already inspected the old fashioned way and compared results. Aerial photographs were converted to 3D visualizations that helped the company assess the damage. Allstate indicated that plans are underway to operationalize drone usage in the next couple of months.

In this instance, Allstate used quadcopters smaller than 55 pounds to avoid requirements for a drone spotter. In the future, the company plans to test fixed wing drones that are must faster than their rotary powered counterparts. Fixed wing drones would allow Allstate to assess a larger area in one pass, giving real time damage estimates for multiple homes in the case of natural disasters.

Unfortunately, fixed wing drones are limited in use by the FAA, and require them to be in the operators’ line of sight or acquire special clearance. For now, quadcopters seem the company’s best option. Allstate hopes that drones can speed up their claims process, saving time for customers and money for the company.

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Dave’s technology geek-fest began with the classic Commodore 64 computer, which started a lifelong passion for all things…

Outdoors

Juiced Bikes offers 20% off on all e-bikes amid signs of bankruptcy

Juiced Bikes Scrambler ebike

A “20% off sitewide” banner on top of a company’s website should normally be cause for glee among customers. Except if you’re a fan of that company’s products and its executives remain silent amid mounting signs that said company might be on the brink of bankruptcy.That’s what’s happening with Juiced Bikes, the San Diego-based maker of e-bikes.According to numerous customer reports, Juiced Bikes has completely stopped responding to customer inquiries for some time, while its website is out of stock on all products. There are also numerous testimonies of layoffs at the company.Even more worrying signs are also piling up: The company’s assets, including its existing inventory of products, is appearing as listed for sale on an auction website used by companies that go out of business.In addition, a court case has been filed in New York against parent company Juiced Inc. and Juiced Bike founder Tora Harris, according to Trellis, a state trial court legal research platform.Founded in 2009 by Harris, a U.S. high-jump Olympian, Juiced Bikes was one of the early pioneers of the direct-to-consumer e-bike brands in the U.S. market.The company’s e-bikes developed a loyal fandom through the years. Last year, Digital Trends named the Juiced Bikes Scorpion X2 as the best moped-style e-bike for 2023, citing its versatility, rich feature set, and performance.The company has so far stayed silent amid all the reports. But should its bankruptcy be confirmed, it could legitimately be attributed to the post-pandemic whiplash experienced by the e-bike industry over the past few years. The Covid-19 pandemic had led to a huge spike in demand for e-bikes just as supply chains became heavily constrained. This led to a ramp-up of e-bike production to match the high demand. But when consumer demand dropped after the pandemic, e-bike makers were left with large stock surpluses.The good news is that the downturn phase might soon be over just as the industry is experiencing a wave of mergers and acquisitions, according to a report by Houlihan Lokey.This may mean that even if Juiced Bikes is indeed going under, the brand and its products might find a buyer and show up again on streets and trails.

Cars

Volkswagen plans 8 new affordable EVs by 2027, report says

volkswagen affordable evs 2027 id 2all

Back in the early 1970s, when soaring oil prices stifled consumer demand for gas-powered vehicles, Volkswagen took a bet on a battery system that would power its first-ever electric concept vehicle, the Elektro Bus.
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Cars

Nissan launches charging network, gives Ariya access to Tesla SuperChargers

nissan charging ariya superchargers at station

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Nissan has not revealed whether the adapter for the Ariya will be free or come at a cost. Some companies, such as Ford, Rivian and Kia, have provided adapters for free.
With its new Nissan Energy Charge Network and access to NACS, Nissan is pretty much covering all the bases for its EV drivers in need of charging up. ChargePoint has the largest EV charging network in the U.S., with over 38,500 stations and 70,000 charging ports at the end of July. Tesla's charging network is the second largest, though not all of its charging stations are part of the SuperCharger network.