Granted Patent B2

US 12,321,965 · App. 17/445,799 · Granted Jun 3, 2025

Inventors: Babak Forutanpour (San Diego, CA); Ted Ray Gooding (San Diego, CA)

Assignee: ecoATM, LLC

G06Q30/0278G06F3/0482G06F18/217G06Q10/30G06Q30/0283G06V10/44G06V10/987G06V20/40G06N20/00G06Q20/18G06Q30/0185

Abstract

Claims (73)

1. A computer-implemented method to generate a price of a target device, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a mobile handheld evaluator device, technical properties associated with the target device, the technical properties comprising a make and a model of the target device;

obtaining, by the mobile handheld evaluator device, physical properties associated with the target device, the physical properties comprising information related to wear and tear of the target device, wherein obtaining the physical properties comprises:

indicating, by a user interface of the handheld evaluator device, to a user that the user should position the target device in one or more predetermined positions relative to a camera of the mobile handheld evaluator device;

indicating, by the user interface, to the user that the mobile handheld evaluator device records one or more images of the target device in each of the predetermined positions using a guide displayed on the mobile evaluator device to indicate how to position the target device within a camera view of the mobile evaluator device; and

capturing, by the camera of the mobile handheld evaluator device, the one or more images of the target device while the target device is positioned in each of the predetermined positions;

evaluating, using an application software and/or hardware of the mobile handheld device, the obtained physical properties to generate a condition metric value of the target device, to perform the evaluating remotely by the user;

based on the generated condition metric value, determining the price of the target device; and

indicating, by the user interface, the price of the target device to the user;

wherein the condition metric value is obtained based on a trained artificial intelligence module to detect screen and/or device imperfections of the target device;

the training of the trained artificial intelligence module includes training data, wherein the training data includes a positive training set of features that have been determined to have a desired property in question, and, in some embodiments, a negative training set of features that lack the property in question using a supervised and/or unsupervised machine learning.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: activating a flashlight of the handheld evaluator device to illuminate the target device, prior to or while the target device is positioned at the predetermined positions; and detecting highlights appearing on a surface of the target device by analyzing the one or more captured images, the highlights indicating at least one crack on the surface of the target device.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

detecting that a second device has replaced the target device by analyzing the one or more captured images; and

determining that the obtained physical properties are inaccurate responsive to detecting that the second device has replaced the target device.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , wherein detecting that the second device has replaced the target device is performed using a trained machine learning model.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining a unique identifier of the target device;

determining whether the target device has been evaluated previously based on the unique identifier; and

upon determining that the target device has been evaluated previously, retrieving data describing the target device from a database.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , wherein obtaining the technical properties and the physical properties comprises:

populating the technical properties and the physical properties from the data describing the target device.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the user interface, an acceptance of the price from the user; and

upon receiving the acceptance, presenting, by the user interface, a map to the user indicating one or more locations at which the user can redeem the target device at an associated price.

8. An mobile evaluator device to evaluate a target device, the mobile evaluator device comprising:

one or more processors; and

at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to:

obtain technical properties associated with the target device, the technical properties comprising a make and a model of the target device;

obtain physical properties associated with the target device, the physical properties comprising information related to wear and tear of the target device, wherein obtaining the physical properties comprises:

indicate, by a user interface of the mobile evaluator device, to a user that the user should position the target device in one or more predetermined positions;

indicate, by the user interface, to the user that the mobile evaluator device records one or more images of the target device in each of the predetermined positions using a guide displayed on the mobile evaluator device to indicate how to position the target device within a camera view of the mobile evaluator device; and

record, by a camera of the mobile evaluator device, a video of the target device while the target device is positioned in the predetermined positions;

evaluate, using an application software and/or hardware of the mobile device, the obtained physical properties to generate a condition metric value of the target device, to perform the evaluating remotely by the user;

based on the generated condition metric value, determine the price of the target device; and

indicate, by the user interface, the price of the target device to the user;

wherein the condition metric value is obtained based on a trained artificial intelligence module to detect screen and/or device imperfections of the target device;

the training of the trained artificial intelligence module includes training data, wherein the training data includes a positive training set of features that have been determined to have a desired property in question, and, in some embodiments, a negative training set of features that lack the property in question using a supervised and/or unsupervised machine learning.

9. The mobile evaluator device of claim 8 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to: activate a flashlight of the mobile evaluator device to illuminate the target device, prior to or while the target device is positioned into the predetermined positions; and detect highlights appearing on a surface of the target device by analyzing the video, the highlights indicating at least one crack on the surface of the target device.

10. The evaluator device of claim 8 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

detect that a second device has replaced the target device by analyzing the video; and

determine that the obtained physical properties are inaccurate responsive to detecting that the second device has replaced the target device.

11. The evaluator device of claim 10 , wherein the instructions cause the one or more processors to detect that the second device has replaced the target device using an artificial intelligence module.

12. The evaluator device of claim 8 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

obtain a unique identifier of the target device;

determine whether the target device has been evaluated previously based on the unique identifier; and

upon determining that the target device has been evaluated previously, retrieve data describing the target device from a database.

13. The evaluator device of claim 12 , wherein the instructions to obtain the technical properties and the physical properties cause the one or more processors to:

populate the technical properties and the physical properties from the data describing the target device.

14. The evaluator device of claim 8 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

receive, by the user interface, an acceptance of the price from the user; and

upon receiving the acceptance, present, by the user interface, a map to the user indicating one or more locations at which the user can redeem the target device at an associated a price.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, which, when executed by at least one computing device of a mobile handheld evaluator device, cause the at least one computing device to:

obtain technical properties associated with a target device, the technical properties comprising a make and a model of the target device;

obtain physical properties associated with the target device, the physical properties comprising information related to wear and tear of the target device, wherein obtaining the physical properties comprises:

indicate, by a user interface of the mobile handheld evaluator device, to a user that the user should position the target device in one or more predetermined positions relative to a camera of the handheld evaluator device;

indicate, by the user interface, to the user that the mobile handheld evaluator device records one or more images of the target device in each of the predetermined positions using a guide displayed on the mobile evaluator device to indicate how to position the target device within a camera view of the mobile evaluator device; and

capture, by the camera of the mobile handheld evaluator device, the one or more images of the target device while the target device is positioned in each of the predetermined positions;

evaluate, using an application software and/or hardware of the mobile handheld device, the obtained physical properties to generate a condition metric value of the target device, to perform the evaluating remotely by the user;

based on the generated condition metric value, determine the price of the target device; and indicate, by the user interface, the price of the target device to the user;

wherein the condition metric value is obtained based on a trained artificial intelligence module to detect screen and/or device imperfections of the target device;

the training of the trained artificial intelligence module includes training data, wherein the training data includes a positive training set of features that have been determined to have a desired property in question, and, in some embodiments, a negative training set of features that lack the property in question using a supervised and/or unsupervised machine learning.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the at least one computing device to: activate a flashlight of the mobile handheld evaluator device to illuminate the target device, prior to or while the target device is positioned at the predetermined positions; and detect highlights appearing on a surface of the target device by analyzing the one or more captured images, the highlights indicating at least one crack on the surface of the target device.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the at least one computing device to:

detect that a second device has replaced the target device by analyzing the one or more captured images; and

determine that the obtained physical properties are inaccurate responsive to detecting that the second device has replaced the target device.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the instructions cause the at least one computing device to detect that the second device has replaced the target device using a machine learning model.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the at least one computing device to:

obtain a unique identifier of the target device;

determine whether the target device has been evaluated previously based on the unique identifier; and

upon determining that the target device has been evaluated previously, retrieve data describing the target device from a database.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the instructions to obtain the technical properties and the physical properties cause the at least one computing device to:

populate the technical properties and the physical properties from the data describing the target device.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (400)

Cited By (5)

US 12,536,643 US 12,597,004 US 12,608,687 US 12,646,041 US 12,676,045