To drive accuracy and client confidence in wholesale vehicle buying and selling, Manheim has launched three fixed imaging tunnels at Manheim Pennsylvania, the world’s largest wholesale vehicle auction, the company reported Oct. 26.

These tunnels, powered by Fyusion AI technology, deliver consistent and complete imaging and views of each vehicle. As one of the first companies to use an AI-driven imaging tunnel for wholesale in 2022, Manheim now has 10 fixed imaging tunnels across six locations, with 31 planned by year end.

“We have seen what a huge difference these images have made for Manheim’s buyers and sellers, as the quality and consistency can’t be beat,” said Brad Burns, associate vice president of vehicle information at Manheim, in a news release. “With several successful launches under our belts, we’re accelerating the pace of deployment to enable even more clients to benefit from this technology, sooner.”

About 3,000 sellers are having their vehicles imaged with a fixed imaging tunnel, informing wholesale decisions for over 23,000 clients across the Manheim Marketplace.

Delivering Superior Vehicle Imaging to Drive Client Confidence

Manheim’s fixed imaging tunnels include nearly 50 cameras and 90+ light panels to capture virtually every vehicle exterior from multiple angles.

The tunnels shoot about 2,500 images of each vehicle in seconds, outputting 90 for analysis and automatically selecting the 12 best to include in a condition report.

Beyond providing the same angles each time with a distraction-free background, the tunnels also capture areas of the vehicle that a human can’t easily get — such as extremely high and low views, and the undercarriage.

The resulting images are high in resolution with superior consistency and expansive angles — all taken while a vehicle is moving. The images are of such high resolution that users can zoom in and see minute details — down to the writing on the side wall of a tire. This level of detail delivers clients a comprehensive view of each vehicle, helping sellers make more informed reconditioning and ROI decisions while elevating buyer trust and confidence in condition reports — and ultimately, their purchases. 

Fueling the Future of Condition Information

The Manheim fixed imaging tunnels are also paving the way for condition reports more consistent than ever before. That’s because the Fyusion AI imaging technology not only captures still images — it also understands the vehicle in three dimensions.

The more than 16 million images already captured by the tunnels are training the expansive Fyusion machine learning model, which can identify and report damage with the utmost speed and accuracy. This automated damage detection capability, which the Manheim and Fyusion teams have already invested millions of dollars in and spent years training, is on target for deployment starting in 2024.

Continuing the Expansion

Meanwhile, fixed imaging tunnels are also operating at Manheim auction operations in Atlanta, Minneapolis, Tampa, Ohio, and Dallas Fort-Worth. Several more are under construction, with the goal of covering 25% of Manheim's check-in volume by the end of 2023. That coverage is expected to double by the end of the first quarter in 2024, accounting for 50% of Manheim’s check-in volume.

Information: Manheim’s fixed imaging tunnels