REMOTE INSPECTION AND APPRAISAL OF BUILDINGS

1 . An apparatus for conducting a building appraisal by a remote inspector, the apparatus comprising:

an image sensor;

a communication module configured to transmit and receive wireless communication signals to and from a computer network;

a memory operatively coupled to the image sensor;

a processor operatively coupled to the image sensor, the memory, the display, and the communication module, the processor configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to cause the processor to:

receive a gross floor area of the building through the communication module;

store, in the memory, images from the image sensor of an interior room of the building;

process the images to determine a planar surface in the images corresponding to a floor surface of the interior room;

process the images to determine a plurality of corners in the images forming vertices of a bounded floor area on the floor surface;

transmit an adjusted floor area of the building, the adjusted floor area including the bounded floor area subtracted from the gross floor area.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

a user interface operatively coupled to the processor, the user interface configured to receive input from an apparatus user; and

wherein the processor is configured to receive, from the user interface, an indication the bounded floor area should be deducted from the gross floor area.

3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , further comprising:

a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver operatively coupled to the processor, the GPS receiver configured to receive GPS signals;

wherein the processor is configured to:

receive a historical location of the building;

compute a current location of the apparatus based on the GPS signals;

compare the current location of the apparatus with the historical location of the building; and

transmit an alert message when the current location of the apparatus does not match the historical location of the building.

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to digitally combine the images to produce a panorama image.

5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:

a display operatively coupled to the processor; and

wherein:

the processor is configured to receive a pointer message, the pointer message including a pointer location;

the processor is configured to digitally overlay a pointer image on the images from the image sensor in response to the pointer message, the pointer image guiding a user of the apparatus to aim the image sensor at the pointer location; and

the display is configured to display the images from the image sensor and the pointer image.

6 . The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein:

the processor is configured to receive a magnification message, the magnification message including a magnification factor; and

the image sensor is configured to magnify the images captured by the image sensor by the magnification factor in response to the magnification message.

7 . The apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising:

a light source operatively coupled to the processor, the light source configured to illuminate a field of view of the image sensor;

wherein the processor is configured to:

receive a light activation message; and

activate the light source in response to the light activation message.

8 . A method comprising:

receiving, by a processor of a computing device, a gross floor area of a building through a computer network;

capturing, with an image sensor, a plurality of images of an interior room of the building;

determining, by the processor of the computing device, a planar surface in the images corresponding to a floor surface of the interior room;

identifying, by the processor of the computing device, a plurality of corners in the images forming vertices of a bounded floor area on the planar surface;

determining, by the processor of the computing device, an adjusted floor area, the adjusted floor area including the bounded floor area subtracted from the gross floor area; and

transmitting, by the processor of the computing device, the adjusted floor area.

9 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising receiving, by the processor of the computing device, an indication by a user of the computing device the bounded floor area should be deducted from the gross floor area.

10 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving, by the processor of the computing device, a historical location of the building;

computing, by the processor of the computing device, a current location of the computing device based on Global Positioning System (GPS) signals;

comparing, by the processor of the computing device, the current location of the computing device to the historical location of the building; and

displaying an alert message when the current location of the computing device does not match the historical location of the building.

11 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising digitally combining, by the processor of the computing device, the images captured by the image sensor to produce a panorama image of the interior room.

12 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving a pointer message by the computing device, the pointer message including a pointer location;

digitally overlaying, by the processor of the computing device, a pointer image on a real-time image of the real-world scene captured by the image sensor in response to the pointer message, the pointer image guiding a user of the computing device to point the image sensor at the pointer location; and

displaying the real-time image and the pointer image on a screen of the computing device.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

receiving a magnification message by the computing device, the magnification message including a magnification factor;

magnifying the real-time image captured by the image sensor by the magnification factor in response to the magnification message.

14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

receiving a light activation message by the computing device; and

activating an artificial light on the computing device to illuminate the interior room.

15 . A computer program product for conducting a building appraisal by a remote inspector, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code configured to:

receive, by a processor of a computing device, a gross floor area of a building through a computer network;

capture a plurality of images of an interior room of the building;

determine a planar surface in the images corresponding to a floor surface of the interior room;

identify a plurality of corners in the images forming vertices of a bounded floor area on the planar surface;

determine an adjusted floor area, the adjusted floor area including the bounded floor area subtracted from the gross floor area; and

transmit the adjusted floor area.

16 . The computer program product of claim 15 , further computer readable program code configured to receive indication by a user of the computing device the bounded floor area should be deducted from the gross floor area.

17 . The computer program product of claim 15 , further comprising computer readable program code configured to:

receive a historical location of the building;

compute a current location of the computing device based on Global Positioning System (GPS) signals;

compare the current location of the computing device to the historical location of the building; and

display an alert message when the current location of the computing device does not match the historical location of the building.

18 . The computer program product of claim 15 , further comprising computer readable program code configured to digitally combine the images captured by the image sensor to produce a panorama image of the interior room.

19 . The computer program product of claim 15 , further comprising computer readable program code configured to:

receive a pointer message, the pointer message including a pointer location;

digitally overlay a pointer image on a real-time image of the real-world scene captured by the image sensor in response to the pointer message, the pointer image guiding a user of the computing device to point the image sensor at the pointer location; and

display the real-time image and the pointer image on a screen of the computing device.

20 . The computer program product of claim 19 , further comprising computer readable program code configured to:

receive a magnification message, the magnification message including a magnification factor;

magnify the real-time image by the magnification factor in response to the magnification message.