Scott Willison knows a good deal about the damage appraisal business
After more than three decades in the sector, he started Motoring Labs that does damage appraisals on heavy trucks using computer vision and AI technology.
Scott Willison has been in the damage appraisal business for more than three decades. During that time, he has seen it become more automated through the use of technology.
About eight to 10 years ago, Willison says he switched from appraising cars and trucks to almost exclusively heavy trucks due to technology taking over the job of auto appraising. Today, he’s the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Motoring Labs, a participant in the second cohort of the “Sustainable Mobility Accelerator”, a partnership between The Company Lab (CO.LAB) in Chattanooga and gener8tor.
The five participating teams will have their “Demo Day” from 4 to 6 p.m. EST on December 11 at the Barrelhouse Ballroom by Five Wits, 1501 Long Street in Chattanooga. To register, click here.
“No one was doing damage appraisals on heavy trucks using computer vision and AI (artificial intelligence), so I decided to create and market the technology myself,” Willison says of the company he founded in Indianapolis, IN in 2020.
Motoring Labs Logisite™ truck scanning technology uses a camera array at the entrances and exits of a logistics business to extract up to 120 points of unique data, as well as catalog damage from each vehicle. That provides the customers of Motoring Labs with a holistic view of their fleet operations. This data includes critical information about fleet location, time stamps, visit frequency, truck ownership, drivetrain details, and even damage comparisons from last viewed event.
Willison touts the three ways that the technology beats its competition.
- Damage Detection: Our expertise lies in designing cutting-edge damage detection systems for heavy truck fleets, enhancing operational efficiency, and reducing costs.
- Security Tools: Additionally, Motoring Labs provides state-of-the-art warehouse security tools, offering comprehensive solutions to safeguard valuable assets and improve logistics operations.
- California WAIRE Program Assistance: We streamline the Warehouse Actions and Investments to Reduce Emissions (WAIRE) program compliance for warehouses through our seamless API, accurately recording every truck visit while meticulously tracking ownership, drivetrain specifics, and truck classification data.
Willison was part of the 2024 Spring gBeta program in Indianapolis where he learned about the “Sustainable Mobility Accelerator” program. He also secured a pre-seed investment from Elevate Ventures, another Indianapolis-based fund.
He says he built the vision model and minimum viable product himself.
“What I thought would work usually did not,” so he spent another two to three years refining the technology to get it right. “Now, I have brought it out of my basement and into the real world.”
He has a pilot project underway with Renewable Transport Services in Indianapolis and has hired a Chief Technology Officer to further develop the technology as he pursues the goal of rolling out a product in the first quarter of 2025. Willison adds that the company has also been presented with opportunities to start pilot projects at several locations in Chattanooga.
Willison describes his experience in Chattanooga as incredibly collaborative, with strong support from venture firms, business leaders, and the CO.LAB team, calling it one of the best decisions he’s made for Motoring Labs.
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