Why Auto-Stickers?
Auto-Stickers are a way to map old damage onto new vehicle inspections.
The method helps differentiate existing damage from pre-existing damage.
Auto-Stickers means not having to label known damage over and over!
In a digital inspection, photos and video are typically taken to capture vehicle condition. The problem is, photo and video don’t always show damage every time a new inspection is taken. The employee doing the inspection might take a bad shot – cut-off, bad angle, blurry… or something temporary might “hide” the damage. For example a reflection from a strong sun, mud or snow.
This makes it difficult to know whether a damage is new – or has changed – from photo to photo.
Auto-Stickers solves this problem.
Auto-Stickers act like a real, physical “sticker” – but in the digital world. This gives the best of both the physical and digital tracking methods.
In combination with other features, Auto-Stickers can be used to let you know when damage is “introduced” to a vehicle. For example, in DAMAGE iD, Auto-Stickers can trigger an email alert to be sent when new damage is found.
Where did Auto-Stickers come from?
Auto-Stickers are part of DAMAGE iD inspection software platform from DAMAGE iD, LLC. DAMAGE iD, LLC is a software company with headquarters in Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA.
Auto-Stickers were originally called “Carry-Forward”. Conceived in 2018 as a feature of the AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning for DAMAGE iD. The feature was developed between October 2023 and April 2024 by Charlie Dalsass and Chandrahas Boorela, engineers from DAMAGE iD.
The idea for the name , “Auto-Stickers”, came from a long-time client, Carl’s Van Rental. Carl’s use a physical process of marking damage with stickers marked with an “X”. Because Carl’s process was very similar to the digital process DAMAGE iD had in the works by 2023, and the name “stuck”.
Trademarked and branded, the first version of Auto-Stickers was introduced in 2024 International Car Rental show, Las Vegas.
How Auto-Stickers improve fleet maintenance.
Auto-Stickers can be used to:
- Identify only new damage, so that customers can be assured they will not be blamed.
- Tell whether damage has gotten worse.
- Identify fixed damage and allow it to be confirmed as fixed.
- Help “catch” any new damages your employees may have missed.
This can lead to improved quality of fleet, more satisfied customers, and accurate understanding of cosmetic damage across and entire fleet.
This also works for delivery and DSP customers who want to identify which driver damage came from.
How do Auto-Stickers work?
The following example describes how Auto-Stickers are used to track and find new damage.
October 1 – first photo is taken, no damage deteted.
October 3 – second photo taken. New damage found. An Auto-Sticker is created.
October 5 – third photo taken. Auto-Sticker is passed to this photo – no need to mark it manually a second time.
October 7 – damage is marked fixed. Auto-Sticker is removed.
The sequence can be seen in the illustration below.
Note that:
- Photos are taken from slightly different different angles, lighting – but from same general viewpoint.
- Damage may not be seen in all photos.
- Red circle indicates new damage. Yellow indicates pre-existing damage.
Summary
We are excited about the AutoStickers launch. We believe this will add benefits to your inspection process and improve the quality of your fleet. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions or comments!