GM turns to AI to speed up vehicle inspections

General Motors is investing in artificial intelligence to inspect vehicles.

Israeli startup UVeye announced GM’s venture capital arm, GM Ventures, is making a “strategic investment” in the company “to help fund the development and commercialization of the company’s vehicle inspection technology.”

According to the company, UVeye systems use artificial intelligence, machine-learning and high-definition camera technologies to check tires, underbody components and vehicle exteriors for defects, missing parts and other safety-related issues.

Automated inspection processes take seconds to complete and are significantly more accurate than time-consuming manual inspections commonly in use today, according to Amir Hever, UVeye’s CEO and co-founder.

Furthermore, the companies also made a commercial agreement to look at expanding UVeye’s automated high-speed systems to various GM dealerships.

The automaker will sell UVeye’s technology to its dealer network to upgrade vehicle inspection systems. GM will also work with UVeye on a variety of vehicle inspection technology projects, including used car auctions, fleet operations, and automotive dealership sales.

More than 4,000 GM dealerships will be eligible to purchase the vehicle-inspection equipment to use in their service lanes, UVeye said in its announcement it will also look at applications for extending the technology to exterior scans and photography to generate online interest and potential sales for used vehicles.