Rental cars: AI tracks the damage, beware of invoices

If you plan to rent a car during your vacation, know that you may have a bad surprise. Because a little damage, which usually goes unnoticed, could now cost you dearly. In question: the growing use of damage detection systems based on artificial intelligence (AI) by rental companies.

How does it work? Vehicles are scanned by high resolution cameras when they are taken care of and their restitution. The AI then compares the images to identify the differences, automatically signaling any new damage.

And she sees everything. An American has had bitter experience in the USA, reports the New York Times. She had rented a vehicle at Hertz at Atlanta airport. Neither her nor the agency employee had noticed damage when returning. But the driver received shortly after an invoice from 195 dollars for a bump detected on a door.

At Hertz, this technology that is gradually deploying in all the main American airports, is provided by the company Uveye. This promises a detection capacity five times that of manual control. The system would avoid human inspections and offer an “objective and reliable” assessment of the state of vehicles. Hertz underlines that this technology protects customers, who are not held responsible for the damage caused by the previous drivers.

The Sixt lessor also uses such a system called “Car Gate” in certain airports, he confirmed at 20 minutes. The principle is identical: the vehicle goes into a tunnel equipped with cameras and sensors. And AI analyzes images looking for possible damage.

Several European airports already use this technology, ensures the company Europcar. A similar system will soon be set up in Zurich, in collaboration with other rental companies, she specifies. But it will be the employees who will determine if there has been damage, the images used only for documentation.

How to avoid any unpleasant surprise? Only way: subscribe to insurance without deductible, recommend the rental companies. Which is not given either …