logo
Scientists developing AI tool to assess car repairs to aid insurance industry

Scientists developing AI tool to assess car repairs to aid insurance industry

Independent01-07-2025
Scientists are developing an artificial intelligence (AI) tool which can accurately diagnose damage to cars following an accident and organise the necessary repairs.
The University of Portsmouth's School of Computing is working with accident repair group ABL 1 Touch and Innovate UK to create the system which would be provided to UK's top insurance companies and vehicle fleet providers.
According to the Association of British Insurers, 2.4 million insurance claims were dealt with by motor insurers in 2024, leading to a record £11.7 billion paid out in claims – 17% higher than in 2023.
Professor Mohammed Bader of the University of Portsmouth's Ai and Data Science Centre, said the system would provide a 'technical benchmark' for the industry.
He said: 'This project will combine machine learning and computer vision to develop AI powered systems that bring together engineers' practical expertise with cutting-edge technology.'
Graham Roberts, chief commercial officer at ABL 1 Touch, said the tool would provide a standard for assessing damage across the industry, giving the company a competitive advantage.
He said: 'We work in a fast-paced industry that is driven by substantially varying vehicle damage types from many sources.
'Therefore, it is paramount that we find new and innovative ways to identify, prioritise and schedule work into our sites.
'The need to generate scalable solutions that remove single-person dependencies and work on mass data learning protocols is something we embrace as a forward-thinking business.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump told Norwegian minister he wants Nobel Prize, newspaper says
Trump told Norwegian minister he wants Nobel Prize, newspaper says

Reuters

timean hour ago

  • Reuters

Trump told Norwegian minister he wants Nobel Prize, newspaper says

OSLO, Aug 14 (Reuters) - When U.S. President Donald Trump called Norway's finance minister last month to discuss tariffs, he also told him he wanted the Nobel Peace Prize, Norwegian business daily Dagens Naeringsliv reported on Thursday. Several countries including Israel, Pakistan and Cambodia have nominated Trump for brokering peace agreements or ceasefires, and he has said he deserves the Norwegian-bestowed accolade that four White House predecessors received. "Out of the blue, while Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg was walking down the street in Oslo, Donald Trump called," Dagens Naeringsliv reported, citing unnamed sources. "He wanted the Nobel Prize - and to discuss tariffs." In a comment to Reuters, Stoltenberg said the call was to discuss tariffs and economic cooperation ahead of Trump's call with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Stoere. "I will not go into further detail about the content of the conversation," he added. Several White House officials, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were on the call, Stoltenberg added. The White House and the Norwegian Nobel Committee did not reply to requests for comment. With hundreds of candidates nominated each year, laureates are chosen by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, whose five members are appointed by Norway's parliament according to the will of Swedish 19th-century industrialist Alfred Nobel. The announcement comes in October in Oslo. The Norwegian newspaper said it was not the first time Trump had brought up the prize in conversation with Stoltenberg, a former secretary general of the NATO military alliance. The White House on July 31 announced a 15% tariff on imports from Norway, the same as the European Union. Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that Norway and the United States were still in talks regarding the tariffs.

I lost £97,000 to a scammer. Before you judge me, here's the unexpected - and tragic - reason I fell for it... and how it changed my life forever: SARAH GRACE
I lost £97,000 to a scammer. Before you judge me, here's the unexpected - and tragic - reason I fell for it... and how it changed my life forever: SARAH GRACE

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

I lost £97,000 to a scammer. Before you judge me, here's the unexpected - and tragic - reason I fell for it... and how it changed my life forever: SARAH GRACE

It was the dead of night when I made the devastating discovery. Combing frantically through the flurry of emails I'd received from a financial services company and trying to work out how I had got into such a mess, I suddenly realised the address was slightly different to the one on the website. An email to the legitimate firm that morning confirmed my worst fears; I had lost £97,000 to a gang masquerading as investment brokers.

IAN WILLIAMS: Ministers blinded by Beijing's cash cannot see their dangerous folly
IAN WILLIAMS: Ministers blinded by Beijing's cash cannot see their dangerous folly

Daily Mail​

time2 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

IAN WILLIAMS: Ministers blinded by Beijing's cash cannot see their dangerous folly

The warning from America is stark: selling Thames Water, Britain's biggest water and sewage business, to a Chinese company would be a 'national security threat' – or as Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, puts it, 'stupidity on stupidity'. That the Labour government cannot see the dangerous folly of handing China control of the capital's water supply – a necessity for 15 million people – beggar's belief. It is only four months since the Chinese owner of British Steel was accused of trying to sabotage the company's blast furnaces, potentially to undermine UK production and increase reliance on imports from China. There have been multiple warnings about the need for vigilance in the face of industrial scale Chinese cyber espionage as well as influence operations to undermine our democracy. The world is becoming more dangerous – to a large extent because of China's behaviour. Yet ministers seem unable or unwilling to see beyond the cash – seemingly oblivious to the risks that come with inviting China into sensitive corners of the economy. Ministers are reportedly preparing to take struggling Thames Water into temporary public ownership, with Hong Kong-based CK Infrastructure (CKI) a leading contender to then take it over. CKI already has investments in British firms, including UK Power Networks, Northumberland Water and Northern Gas Networks. It also has a 65 per cent stake in UK Rails, which leases rolling stock to Britain's railway companies. Surely this is reason for caution, especially as relations with China deteriorate and Beijing seeks to exert greater control over CKI's parent company, CK Hutchison Holdings (CKH). The US government has raised the alarm over CKH, which controls ports at either end of the Panama Canal, because Washington fears the firm could hand China control of the vital waterway. In March, CKH agreed to sell the ports to an American-led consortium, but the deal has effectively been vetoed by Beijing, which has threatened CKH's business interests in China unless it takes on a partner closely linked to the Chinese Communist Party. CKH is headquartered in Hong Kong, which for a long time was a relatively autonomous place for business, free from the heavy hand of Beijing. No more. Hong Kong is now darkly repressive – as the trial and pending prison sentence of 77-year-old pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, a fierce critic of China, will surely attest. Burner phones and throw-away laptops are commonplace for visiting foreign executives, fearing surveillance. Companies based in the former British colony cannot escape laws that oblige all Chinese firms do the Party's bidding on demand when it comes to issues of 'national security' – an infinitely elastic concept in China. As Beijing deepens its partnership with Russia, underwriting the Ukraine war, and grows increasingly hostile to the West, its 'Trojan horse' investments look dangerous and foolhardy. Selling Thames Water will be the first big test of the Labour government's 'China audit', which was supposed to forge a more coherent policy with this rising power. That followed disastrous decisions to invite firms linked to Beijing into sensitive industries, such as nuclear power and advanced telecoms. They were reversed only after political outcry – and American pressure. Sir Keir Starmer now claims to be trying to balance security concerns against economic opportunities. To sell Thames Water to a Chinese company would show how little he has learned.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store