General Motors uses AI to identify and fix damaged parts in vehicles

American automaker General Motors (GM) is bringing artificial intelligence (AI) into the vehicle inspection process. For this, GM is making an undisclosed investment in an Israeli startup, UVeye, which makes vehicle diagnostic systems that use sensors and AI to quickly identify damaged parts or maintenance issues. 

The carmaker invested in UVeye through its GM Ventures and the investment should help fund both the commercialisation and development of the latter. The report also noted that GM will leverage the AI technology to improve their vehicles' cognition. This in turn will help them to save money and reduce the cost of ownership, as per a news report by The Verge. 

As part of the collaboration, GM will sell UVeye’s technology to its dealer network to upgrade its vehicle inspection systems. GM will also work with the startup on a variety of vehicle inspection technology projects involving used car auctions, fleet operations, and automotive dealership sales.

The UVEye is an AI-based technology that has the ability to eliminate a lot of human error. It can reduce the time taken to complete a vehicle inspection and improve the accuracy of vehicle inspection process by over 90%, according to its official blog. 

While the partnership is aimed at U.S dealers at present, in the coming months, it will reportedly expand this initiative to other geographies with new customer acquisition, said the report. 

In recent times, global automakers, including Ford Motor Company, Toyota and Volkswagen, among others, are increasingly betting on AI technologies to improve the driving experience and keep their vehicles safe and in turn reduce operating costs.  

For example, Ford has long used AI throughout its organisation, including in its plants, where AI is used for preventive maintenance, on its assembly lines, and also across the business to help manage parts inventory and other activities. In 2017 it acquired a stake in startup Argo AI as part of its efforts to develop an autonomous car. In March this year, the automaker said, it has trained more than 1,000 employees to develop AI applications targeting supply-chain challenges and other issues. 

More recently, Toyota Motor partnered with San Francisco-based a visual intelligence platform, Invisible AI to use artificial intelligence to help it make more intelligent decisions in its factories regarding quality, safety and productivity.  The AI-based computer vision platform will be installed in all 14 manufacturing locations in North America, it said.