Vegas Nights at the 2022 International Car Rental Show
DAMAGE iD at the 2022 International Car Rental Show in VEGAS (Day 1)
DAMAGE iD team is headed to the 2022 international car show in Las Vegas! Will be staying at the Paris hotel right on the strip.
DAMAGE iD Completes Integration with Cars+/Thermeon
March 1, 2022
DAMAGE iD has just completed its first customer integration with CarsPlus/Thermeon software. Avasa, a Hertz licensee from Mexico, is the first customer to enable the integration.
The DAMAGE iD software captures events about key events within the rental process. Vehicles are automatically created within the system, and associated with a Rental Agreement number (RA).
When the customer performs a damage inspection, the car is already associated with the RA number, so the employee has only to enter this number instead of license plate, unit number or vin. This approach is more reliable when identifying the vehicle for the inspection, since plates change, vin can be difficult to scan, unit numbers change etc.
Within the DAMAGE iD Review Portal, customers can search via RA number or vehicle number.
The integration also includes a feature to email the customer automatically upon inspection checkout and return. The customer will receive a PDF copy of the inspection via email.
DAMAGE iD is excited about this integration and the opportunities it will provide to the Thermeon/Cars+ Users.
See you in Vegas!!!
DAMAGE iD Thanks all Canadian Truckers!
Thank you for standing up for our God-given, human rights. The right to life, association, free-speech … the right to informed consent, the right to truthful medical information and the right to bodily autonomy.
These rights are unalienable.
They never change. No-one on earth – no person or government – can take our rights from us.
DAMAGE iD thanks you for having the courage to risk it all for our rights.
You are true superheros!
Now on to victory!
With New Templates, DAMAGE iD Can Help Sell your Vehicle!
Over the years, we’ve heard many customers say “since we take so many photos and videos with DAMAGE iD, could we use those photos when it’s time to sell vehicles in our fleet?”
So… today we launched “Photo/Video Templates”!!
“Photo templates” gives you nearly unlimited ways to capture photos of anything. No longer are you constrained to the “standard photos” in DAMAGE iD.
To start, go to the Review Portal. Then Settings ⇾ Photo/Templates.
Fill out the labels you want for your template. You can choose up to 47 labels!
Remember, both video and photos can be used for each position you choose.
Save the template.
Now go to the DAMAGE iD app. Log out (Click “Gear” or Settings icon to logout). Then log back in. Your new photo template will appear beneath the license plate field.
Click “Take Photos”. Viola!
Your new photo template appears.
This adds a lot of flexibility to how you can use DAMAGE iD! For example, you can take pictures that conform to a vehicle sales software or website. Or you could inspect some portion of fleet entirely different from our “legacy” photo set such as tires… or the appearance of your front office (keep it clean and tidy please)!
Photo Templates are available on DAMAGE iD version 4.2 r67 (and above).
Let us know how you are using Photo Templates!
Let’s have a wonderful 2022 together. Happy New Years!
New Customized Options for PDF for Sharing, Share Log
When users share the PDF via “Export Photos” or “Share Case”, a PDF is generated (see sample) and downloaded or sent via email to your customer.
As of today, you can now also customize the email contents and logo the customer sees.
To add your custom settings to your email and PDF, go to Review Portal, then to Settings > Sharing.
The new settings page appears as below.
The information you enter here defines the email which will be sent to customers when you share the Case with them.
We’ve also added a new Report called the “Share Log” which shows who you’ve shared Cases with.
No more disputes about the condition of the vehicle or about which email was used sent. The log shows the entire history!
For accountability of vehicle condition – for rentals, DSPs, and all fleets, things are just getting better and better with DAMAGE iD!!
Please email the A-Team with any questions or improvement ideas!
Thank Angel ? from Mexico for our Latest Feature – “Share Photos from App”!
While in Vegas at the ICRS (August 15-17), we met hundreds of Car Rental Companies from diverse countries around the world. It was an exhilarating experience. (Be sure to see our blog post from Day 1, Day 2, Day 3).
We heard so many of our existing and (soon to be) customers needs and wants.
Angel from Mexico requested to Share the photos from the App to the Customer. (Currently customers are downloading the PDF in the Review Portal, then emailing the customer – but we can do much better than that!!)
Thank you. You are truly an Angel!
So… we just launched the “Share Photos from App”. This update is for both IOS and Android. Look for Android 4.0r61 and IOS (Apple) version 3.7 in the app store, then upgrade to the latest version.
It works like this:
After you complete the case, click the new, “Share Case” button.
This will bring you to the mobile optimized share page on the Review Portal site.
Enter the email address of the recipient of the PDF report and click “Send”.
(ps. you don’t have to wait for all photos to upload to use Share, but the email won’t go out until all photos and videos are uploaded).
Note that the customer will receive both emails when case is created and after case closed (vehicle is returned)*.
*Emails will be sent once all photos are uploaded.
In the Review Portal, you will also find the “Share Case” button.
You can see how the email notification looks in the photo below.
A sample PDF file can be found here.
We hope you enjoy using our new “Share Photos from App” feature!
As always, contact the A-TEAM with any questions or suggestions. We love hearing from all you “Angels” out there!
DAMAGE iD stands AGAINST COVID Passports and Mandates
At DAMAGE iD, we believe passports and mandates are just plain wrong.
Here’s why:
- What “Science says” is not settled. No-one can say that “science” gives us one single, approach, which can be forced on others. By now, it is obvious everyone (the CDC, the WHO, the US Government, citizens etc) has been learning as we go through this pandemic. Many mistakes and missteps have been made through these 2 years.
- Mandates should not be one-size-fits-all. Not everyone’s body is the same. Mandates don’t take into account previous, natural immunity, medical conditions, philosophic or religious objections.
- There is rarely guidance on who is liable when there are side-effects to the vaccine.
- Mandates divide our society into factions and discriminate against those with legitimate reasons to avoid vaccines.
- The idea that un-vaccinated people are somehow a harm to vaccinated people is absurd. If the vaccine works as advertised and you’ve had the shot, then you will be fine. Otherwise, at least admit that it doesn’t work. But don’t blame others for that. A vaccinated person is just as likely to spread it as an un-vaccinated person and they pose no harm to anyone (other than possibly themselves).
- There are no studies on long-term effects of the vaccines. It is still a massive experiment.
- The government and Big-Tech are actively suppressing legitimate medical information. That is wrong. They are sensoring the most modest voices – even those who suggest to do your research and not to get bullied into taking the vaccine. The censorship is just plain, creepy. When they act like this, how can we trust anything they say?
We aren’t asking for “likes”. But it’s time to stand up against these bullies and join against them. Join a protest, contact your newspaper … resist. Do whatever you can to make your voice heard.
Signed,
Charlie Dalsass, partner and CTO.
Improved Checkout Speed, Auto-Login in Version 4.0r60.
This week, we’ve made some small, but IMPORTANT updates.
First, we realized that with all our new customers, the “Checkout” process has gotten a bit slow. (If you ever see something that should be faster, be sure to let the A-Team know. We love to optimize DAMAGE iD!).
(The “Checkout” is the part where you enter your unit number, license plate or scan the VIN number.)
We’ve optimized that. Now Checkouts have gone from 6-8 seconds down to 1 second!
You should be able to notice this when using the app. It should feel much snappier.
(This change affects both Android and IOS/Apple apps).
The second change we made this week, affects Android. (Look for version 4.0r60 in the play store).
This change reduces the number of login screens you will get. When you start up the app it will automatically log you in, until you log out.
This should make the app just a little more pleasant to use.
In future releases, we will be announcing some major software integrations. We want to be compatible with as many software products as possible. Once we have these integrations complete, we will let you know more.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Major 4.0 Release – Now you can Circle Damage Directly on the App!
In our most recent Android release, 4.0, you can now add damage directly to the app!
Upgrade your Android version, to be sure you have the latest version of the app.
The new version adds a brief, additional step between each photo or movie that you take. If there is no new damage, click “Next”.
If you see damage, click “CIRCLE DAMAGE” or Double tap on damage location. A red circle will appear. Use your finger to move the red circle to where the damage appears.
If you are unsure if damage is new, click “Show Existing Damages” to show previous damages. They will appear in YELLOW. This allows you to tell the difference between old and new damage!
Here’s a short video (less than 1 minute).
Choose “damage type” and add comments directly to the damage.
Once photos are uploaded to the Review Portal, you will see the same damage flagged in the Case List.
Once inside the case, the red flag will identify the position where damage was found.
In addition, the circles, comments and damage type will be found in the Case.
The damage circle can be further edited, moved, deleted etc within the Review Portal.
The damage found either in app or in Review Portal is available in the Damage Report, giving you visibility across your entire fleet!
Download your entire list of damages to Excel within the Damage Report.
The new feature is available in Android 4.0. (This feature is not yet available for IOS/iPhone/iPad).
We hope this great new feature helps you keep your fleet damage-free.
We are thrilled to be launching version 4.0 – a great milestone for our product – and our customers!
DAMAGE iD Featured in Auto Rental News for New ProofTec Partnership
Auto Rental News recently reported on the new DAMAGE iD ProofTec Partnership.
The new capabilities will be demonstrated at the International Car Rental Show in Vegas!
Great to be getting some press!
DAMAGE iD Automatic Damage Detection Demo
This demonstration was first presented at the 2021 International Car Rental Show in Las Vegas, August 16-17, 2021.
This demonstration shows the capabilities now available with the recent DAMAGE iD, ProofTec Partner(ship) on AI Damage Detection. These capabilities include automatic or AI-based damage detection.
Demo Format
We started the demo wiping the car with a cloth, removing any “damage” or “scratches”.
Next, we asked the audience to mark the damage on the model using a special chalk marker that gave the appearance of a scratch.
Next, we performed a “walk-around” on the vehicle using the DAMAGE iD mobile application (Android version was used for the demo, but IOS/Apple is supported as well), taking pictures of each position.
To make it easy to take different shots of each position, we used an motorized, rotating “lazy susan” .
We did not manually mark the damage, but instead allowed the auto-detection (artificial intelligence module) to capture the damage automatically.
Within the app we can also circle the damage manually – to show both human and AI capabilities work, hand-in-hand.
The photos are then uploaded to the cloud.
Next, we log into the (web based) Review Portal and search by unit number to view the “Case”. The Case shows before and after photos in a pair.
Red flags show that damage has been found.
The flags appear in the Case List and also on the profile icon.
The following video shows the damage was successfully auto-detected.
Red circles appear, highlighting the damage and damage type.
Damage which is detected by AI is marked “AI Detected” next to the damage type.
The following video shows both the app (Android) and Review Portal software in action.
We had great fun in Vegas doing this demo and the feedback was really positive.
If you missed us at Vegas, please email us at demo@damageid.com for an in-person Zoom version of this demo.
Day 2 (continued), 2021 International Car Rental Show, Las Vegas
Day 2, 2021 International Car Rental Show, Las Vegas
Day 1, 2021 International Car Rental Show, Las Vegas
View of the exposition room before opening
More Storage, Plus 20 Extra Photos on DAMAGE iD Version 3.8
We’ve just added an 20 EXTRA PHOTOS to the latest version of DAMAGE iD!
You’ve asked for this for a long time… the ability to take multiple photos of a specific damage when it’s found. You want the most detail you can get … so take more photos and video!
Our latest version offers 20 “Other” photos for a total of 27 total photos and videos.*
*Remember, DAMAGE iD doesn’t charge extra for storage space. Photos are stored at no additional cost – and as long as you keep the vehicle in the DAMAGE iD system. At ten seconds each, that can be up to 9 minutes of video per case! That’s alot of MBs!
Another benefit to the increased storage, is that you can now review/retake the photos more easily. No need to click the (+) plus icon — the “Other” photos stay in place the entire time.
Finally, all photos that are customized will appear on the screen.
Now you can more easily show employees which photos they must take.
The new features is available in Android 3.8 version 55. (This feature is not yet available for IOS/iPhone/iPad).
We hope this great new feature helps you keep your fleet damage-free.
We are so happy to be launching this new feature. Happy Fourth of July to all our loyal customers and friends!
Tech Tip #2: How to Increase or Decrease Photo Brightness (Exposure)
We believe there is no better software for finding and proving damage than DAMAGE iD.
However, you must take great photos in order to get an accurate, detailed digital record of your vehicles’ condition.
To make taking great photos easier for you, in Android 3.7 (r54), we’ve added an exposure slider.
Now when taking photos, just click the “sun” icon. See below!
You are never going to find or prove vehicle damage if your photos are “washed out” or “over-exposed” like the above photo.
Use the exposure icon (“the sun” icon) to prevent bad photos.
Best of luck taking great photos with DAMAGE iD!
Tech Tip: How to Sort Vehicles by Numerical Unit Number
Unit numbers in DAMAGE iD can contain either numbers or letters (or a mixture of the two).
Some customers mix numbers and letters in vehicle Unit Number. Some use only numbers, e.g. 0-9.
When sorting vehicles by Unit Number, the order can be somewhat unexpected for users who use only numbers.
For example, the default Vehicle sorting will order the vehicles like this:
1111, 2
Because alphabetically, “1111” comes before “2” – even though “1111” is bigger than “2”.
If you prefer to sort the vehicles like this:
2, 1111
Select the option “All Unit Numbers are numeric”.
This will sort your vehicles in the way you expect it within the Case List and the Vehicles List (click the table heading to sort by any field).
After changing the setting, the following sorting will be used.
DAMAGE iD Version 3.7 Introduces Location Tracking on Photos
Now you have one more way to protect your fleet.
We’ve just added location tracking to DAMAGE iD photos!
The new features is available in Android 3.7 version 50. (This feature is not yet available for IOS/iPhone/iPad).
Location tracking provides accountability for vehicle condition of your rental, DSP or car-sharing fleet!
To enable, click the “Gear” icon on the main screen after logging into the DAMAGE iD app.
Click the “Add location on photos” option.
You will be prompted by the app to allow this feature. Location tracking must also be enabled inside the Android settings.
From that point on, the location will appear on your photos.
We hope this great new feature helps you keep your fleet damage-free.
Best of luck with your fleet!
How to Bulk Archive and Delete Vehicles in the Review Portal
We’ve just added a new capability in the Vehicles (Cars) section of the Review Portal.
You can now modify up to 50 vehicles at one time. This works for the following bulk actions:
- Delete
- Activate
- Archive
- De-Activate
And you can select up to 50 vehicles with a single click. See below:
In addition, we’ve added a new field “Date Created“.
(The Date Created will be blank for existing vehicles, but will be filled when new vehicles are created).
Click ‘DATE CREATED‘ column in the Vehicles list to order vehicles by this date. (Click again to reverse order).
This should be a big time-saver for customers such as auto dealerships or automotive repair shops who delete vehicles after a short period of time.
Hopefully you will make use of this great new feature!