LIVONIA, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Technology originally developed for homeland security is now available in Michigan to inspect every inch of your car. Developers say using UVeye is like getting an MRI for your vehicle.
"This will capture a full scan anywhere from five miles per hour anywhere up to 30 miles an hour. Although we would never recommend that," said Kristie Risner, an account manager with General Motors.
GM partnered with UVeye to bring the drive-through technology into dealerships, like Feldman Chevrolet in Livonia.
The Israeli tech start-up originally created the in-ground portion to detect bomb threats hidden under a vehicle.
"As they're going through checkpoints, it's mirrors and looking at the undercarriage of vehicles, and so basically they're like 'there's a better way," said Risner.
Motorists drive over the automated technology as it takes thousands of pictures and then stitches them together into a high-definition image. Along with car bombs, it started picking out mechanical issues and leaks.
UVeye then added an arch component that takes 360-degree images of the car's outside as the vehicle drives through. Detecting dents, scratches, and chips. A third section inspects tires for bulges and uneven tread wear.
After the car passes through the UVeye, they get a detailed report in 30 seconds.
"It's all for safety. That's the biggest piece of all of this," John Butkovich, the fixed operations manager for the Feldman Automotive Group.
They have the technology at three of their dealerships. Butkovich said it builds trust and transparency with the customers.
"You can actually click on it, and you can scroll right in on it and see as close as you want to get to it. And this is an actual photograph of the vehicle itself."
He said it also saves his employees and customers time, as it is quicker and more detailed than manual inspections. It can highlight damage as small as 2 millimeters.
"These are things that the naked eye, you wouldn't normally see that when you walk around a car," said Butkovich.
The dealership uses UVeye in their service lane, but also to inspect new cars arriving from factories and in their used car department, to assess value.
The AI technology can also be used on loaner vehicles to inspect damage before and after each use.
Butkovich said they don't charge for the scans, and customers, of course, have a choice on whether or not they want to fix any problems the tech finds.
Michigan is an early adopter of this technology, there are only a few hundred UVeyes throughout the U.S. currently. Risner said to expect to see technology like this more and more in the future.
Amazon will be using the automatic inspection system in its fleet of over 100,000 vehicles across the U.S., Canada, Germany, and the U.K.
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Kelly Vaughen is a reporter and weekend evening anchor for CBS News Detroit. She is thrilled to make Michigan her home!
