System and method for detecting objects in images

1. A computer system comprising at least one computer configured to perform a method comprising:

receiving at least one image that depicts a structure on real property, the structure having a first floor and at least one structural element in the at least one image, wherein the at least one structural element comprises at least one set of stairs each stair having a riser;

testing the at least one image for compliance with at least one criterion for reliable object detection;

dividing the image into a plurality of regions;

predicting a first bounding box for the at least one set of stairs in the at least one image;

predicting a plurality of other bounding boxes, the plurality of other bounding boxes comprising a bounding box for each of a plurality of risers of the at least one set of stairs;

counting a number of stairs in the at least one set of stairs based on the predicted plurality of other bounding boxes, wherein counting the number of stairs comprises counting a number of bounding boxes for the plurality of risers of the at least one set of stairs;

estimating a first-floor elevation or a height of the at least one set of stairs based on the number bounding boxes for the plurality of risers of the at least one set of stairs; and

storing the estimated first-floor elevation or height of the at least one set of stairs in at least one database.

2. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one structural element further comprises at least one of: a door, a window, a floor, and a roof, and wherein the method comprises estimating the first floor elevation or height based on a presence of and a location of the at least one structural element in the image.

3. The computer system of claim 1 , the method comprising causing an interface screen to be displayed on a client device coupled to the at least one computer via a communication network, the interface screen comprising at least one form element for a user to identify and upload the at least one image from the client device to the at least one computer.

4. The computer system of claim 1 , the method comprising: causing to be displayed an interface screen on a client device coupled to the at least one computer via a communication network, the interface screen comprising at least one form element for a user to provide at least one address for the structure on the real property; and retrieving the at least one image that depicts the structure on real property from a service provider database.

5. The computer system of claim 4 , wherein the address comprises an image address for retrieving the at least one image from a local or remote repository.

6. The computer system of claim 4 , wherein the address comprises a property address and wherein the at least one computer retrieves the at least one image based on the property address.

7. The computer system of claim 1 , the method comprising storing meta data associated with the at least one image, the meta data comprising at least one of: time/date stamp, image resolution, camera orientation, camera gyroscope position/rotation, accelerometer information, and zoom level at a time of image capture.

8. The computer system of claim 7 , the method comprising processing the at least one image based on the meta data associated with the at least one image.

9. The computer system of claim 1 , the method comprising: receiving a batch of images; processing each of the images in the batch of images; and for each of the images estimating a first floor elevation or height of a structure on the real property therein based on the structural element.

10. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one criterion comprises image resolution, the method further comprising preprocessing the at least one image which comprises resealing the at least one image while retaining aspect ratio.

11. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein predicting that the first or the plurality of other bounding boxes contains a structural element comprises analyzing the at least one image using a machine learning based model trained to identify structural elements in the at least one image.

12. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the machine learning based model is trained to identify stairs in a set of stairs.

13. The computer system of claim 12 , wherein the machine learning based model is further trained to identify at least one of doors, windows, ground/grade, sill plate, and roof in the at least one image.

14. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one image is presented to an object detection neural network.

15. The computer system of claim 1 , comprising estimating a first floor elevation or height of property structures in each of a plurality of images and causing an interface screen to be displayed that includes a mapping of the first floor elevations or heights.

16. The computer system of claim 15 , wherein the interface screen further includes an indication of a number of properties at risk of flooding.

17. A computer system comprising at least one computer having software stored thereon that when executed causes the at least one computer to perform a method comprising:

causing an interface screen to be displayed on a client device coupled to the at least one computer via a communication network, the interface screen comprising at least one form element for a user to identify the at least one image to be uploaded to the at least one computer;

receiving at least one image that depicts a structure on real property, the structure having a first floor and at least one structural element in the at least one image, wherein the at least one structural element comprises a set of stairs;

testing the at least one image for compliance with at least one criterion for reliable object detection;

dividing the image into a plurality of regions;

predicting at least a first bounding box for the at least one structural element in the at least one image;

analyzing the at least one image using a machine learning based model trained to identify a set of stairs in the at least one image;

predicting therefrom a plurality of other bounding boxes, the plurality of other bounding boxes comprising a bounding box for each of a plurality of risers of the set of stairs;

counting a number of stairs in the at least one set of stairs based on the predicted plurality of other bounding boxes, wherein counting the number of stairs comprises counting a number of bounding boxes for the plurality of risers of the at least one set of stairs;

estimating a first-floor elevation or a height of the at least one set of stairs based on the number bounding boxes for the plurality of risers of the at least one set of stairs;

storing the estimated first floor elevation or height in at least one database; and

causing an interface screen to be displayed that includes a mapping of the first floor elevations or heights for each of a plurality of properties.

18. The computer system of claim 17 , wherein the interface screen further includes an indication of a number of properties at risk of flooding.