Patent attributes
An autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle can detect an imminent collision according to sensor data and responsively select an action or a sequence of actions to avoid the collision if avoidable, and to reduce or minimize the harm of the collision if unavoidable. An artificial intelligence model may be used to process the sensor data, detect the imminent collision, and select the collision avoidance action or actions, or the harm-reduction or harm-minimization action or actions. For example, when the collision is considered unavoidable, the vehicle may apply the brakes to reduce the vehicle's speed and therefore, the severity of the impact. When the collision is considered avoidable, the vehicle may automatically apply steering to avoid the potential collision, such as when the vehicle is departing a lane and may collide with a vehicle traveling in the same or opposite direction.