These days, even a humble Toyota Corolla is essentially a computer on wheels, with more than a dozen cameras, sensors, and warning systems. And all it takes is one little fender bender to throw the whole system out of whack.
Meet the world of digital collision repair, in which after a body shop fixes your bumpers and panels, another tackles your car’s sensor alignments. That’s the idea behind Kinetic, which opens this week in the Dogpatch. The 8,000-square-foot facility uses AI and robotics to diagnose and calibrate safety systems common in most modern vehicles.
Kinetic can caliberate safety systems in minutes using robots and AI.
At a traditional repair shop, the manual calibration process can take hours.
“Repairing the sophisticated software and sensors of modern vehicles requires a level of precision that traditional body shops aren’t designed for,” said CEO Nikhil Naikal.
At Kinetic’s hubs — there are seven across the West Coast, including San Carlos and Redwood City — vehicles undergo a digital assessment using cameras and software that analyze damage and determine what repairs are required. Naikal likens it to an MRI or airport scan. After mechanical or body work is completed at a partner shop, such as Fix Auto or Chilton Auto Body, the vehicle heads to Kinetic for digital calibration.
The process is meant to ensure that features like collision warnings and lane assistance work properly before the car returns to the road. Kinetic’s services are typically included in insurance-covered repair costs, and the company works with most major auto insurers.
CEO Nikhil Naikal got the idea for Kinetic while working at a company that supplies sensor technology to automakers. | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Standard