UCI Mobile
An inspection solution in your pocket…
Today’s smartphones pack an amazing amount of imaging and processing technology in an incredibly small package. The UCI mobile system is a physical/digital solution that harnesses this technology to enable vehicle inspection in virtually any setting. The physical hardware provides custom lensing, lighting, communications and battery management functions. A mobile app on the companion smartphone captures the imagery and processes data either locally or via LAN/WAN in the cloud.
Hardware elements and ecosystem
The iPhone 13 was chosen to provide the camera and digital control for the system. It was immediately obvious there would be challenges adapting 3rd party cases and other smartphone models with different form-factors and camera positionings. An early decision was made to require the system to include a custom case to provide the physical interface between different smartphones and the hardware.
(Adapting smartphones other than iPhone 13 was considered but not explored in this product development process)
In addition, the front-facing camera was chosen for mirrorless solutions because it has the same resolution as the rear cameras and allows access to the iPhone’s UI during operation of the scanner.
Fixed Parameters
Design Directions
Three design directions were explpored…
Cradle
Case
Mirrored
Cradle
Insert a custom-cased smartphone into a “cradle” with an integrated wide angle lens. Auxilary lighting might also be needed. Images are gathered using front-facing camera. Operation is controlled wirelessly via an app tailored to the reduced screen size. When not in use the cradle element is stowed.
Case
Create a case with a “snap-on” or integrated lens element. Images are gathered using front-facing camera. When not in scanning mode, the lens is stowed or moved out of position to access the smartphone’s entire UI.
Mirrored
Insert a custom-cased smartphone into an all in one system with lighting, custom lensing and 180 degree mirroring. The device is wirelessly controlled by the smartphone. The smartphone’s rear facing camera is utilized.
Cradle
Case
Capture Process
Mirrored
The video shows an actual “scan” from the Mirrored prototype. A stitching algorithm compensates for the distortion in the fisheye lens and combines frames from the video into a panoramic image.
The app on the iPhone would also include a barcode scanning feature to associate the scan with the VIN # of the vehicle. All information is uploaded to the cloud to be analyzed with AI for defects or mechanical problems, or shared with potential sellers and/or buyers.
