Xcira’s run with innovative technology began when the company filed its first patent application in May of 2000, according to Nancy Rabenold, CEO of Xcira. That first patent – 6,813,612 – secured ownership in a revolutionizing technology that enables individuals to participate in live auctions from remote locations simply by using an Internet connection and a computer. The technology delivers a real-time environment with negligible delay so that remote bidders participate with the same advantage as a bidder standing in the lane of the auction house.
Building off the platform of this patent, Xcira launched out in a variety of directions, pushing the technological envelope and moving the industry significantly forward.
“Bidding, however, is just one aspect of the auctioning process, and we worked to develop a tool for the remote user who could not walk through the lot, touch the cars, or kick the tires,” Rabenold explained. Xcira’s solution was the Automatic Condition Evaluation System (ACE), which gives the remote audience the ability to look at and evaluate a vehicle, pulling information from a variety of sources that simply is not available on the auction floor.
“Rather than looking under the hood, the remote bidder receives a list of every part that has been replaced, the age of the part, and/or an entire history of the item up for auction,” said Rabenold. She notes that Xcira has locked down the protection of this technology with additional patents. Complementing the ACE System is Xcira’s recent patent for the Intelligent Condition Evaluator (ICE) handheld inspection system as well as other ICE pending patents.
A key advancement in the Xcira online auctioning system includes the provision of real-time audio and video such that the remote audience has the look-and-feel of being on the auction floor. “We knew it was imperative that the remote bidders experience the excitement of the auction floor and that the auctioneers leverage the psychology of the auctions,” said Rabenold adding that Xcira continues to push the technological limits relating to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the video delivery and has obtained additional related patents.
Another advancement offered by Xcira allows a team to more efficiently “work” an auction. “A single buyer on the auction floor may be able to watch two adjacent lanes at best,” said Rabenold. “But Xcira’s technology allows a local bidder, as well as a remote bidder, to simultaneously participate in multiple auctions on opposite sides of the auction house and even in other remote auction houses.”
Xcira locked up this technology in patent number 7,664,677 and then recently further secured other aspects of this technology by obtaining patent number 8,412,587.
In the midst of all the technological advancements, Xcira maintains focus on the purpose of the automotive industry: sellers want to sell and buyers want to buy in the most efficient, effective manner possible. “In the fast-paced environment of automotive auctions, many transactions just fall to the floor because decisions are not made quickly enough to close the deal. Xcira answered this problem by introducing a tool that allows sellers and buyers to jump out of an auction and into a direct negotiation environment to close the sale,” Rabenold notes. The novel techniques introduced by Xcira have been captured in patent number 8,326,691.
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