Diagnosing accidents in information handling systems (IHSs)

1 . An Information Handling System (IHS), comprising:

a processor of an always-on Embedded Controller (EC) configured to be coupled with the IHS; and

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory configured with program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by the processor, cause the IHS to perform operations that comprise:

in response to an accident, collect fan data that comprises thermal or acoustic information from at least one sensor coupled to the EC; and

based at least in part upon a comparison between collected fan data and stored fan data, wherein the comparison is determined, at least in part, by a slope-based curve-fit algorithm executed by the EC, automatically perform an accident remediation or mitigation operation that comprises:

generate, by the EC, a mitigation or remediation plan to handle the accident, wherein the mitigation or remediation plan is generated based at least in part upon an accident detection and/or handler policy configured to map contextual information, based upon application of one or more rules, to one or more accident detection and handler commands, notifications, and/or setting;

execute, by the EC, at least a portion of the mitigation or remediation plan to cause one or more of: turn a fan off, or limit speed of at least one processor; and

in response to a determination the IHS is in a low-power state, turn the IHS on or wake the IHS up.

2 . The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the accident comprises at least one of: a drop, a fall, a throw, a hit, a crash, an impact, or a collision involving the IHS or a component thereof.

3 . The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the accident remediation or mitigation operation further comprises a diagnostic.

4 . The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the fan data comprises a fan ramp-up curve.

5 . The IHS of claim 4 , wherein the stored fan data comprises stored fan ramp-up curve data associated with a fan in an absence of damage.

6 . The IHS of claim 5 , wherein further program instructions, upon execution, further cause the EC to compare a slope of the fan ramp-up curve against a slope of a stored fan ramp-up curve.

7 . The IHS of claim 1 , wherein further program instructions, upon execution, further cause the EC to select the accident remediation or mitigation operation based, at least in part, upon an accident handling policy or an Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML) model.

8 . The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the accident remediation or mitigation operation comprises at least one of: notify a user or Information Technology Decision Maker (ITDM), notify a cloud service, initiate a data backup, provide technical support or a warranty service, or dispatch a damaged part to a user of the IHS.

9 . A memory device configured with program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by a processor of an always-on Embedded Controller (EC) configured to be coupled with an Information Handling System (IHS), cause the IHS to perform operations that comprise:

in response to an accident, collect thermal data that comprises chassis temperature from at least one sensor coupled to the EC; and

based at least in part upon a comparison between the thermal data and stored thermal data, wherein the comparison is determined, at least in part, by a slope-based curve-fit algorithm executed by the EC, automatically perform an accident remediation or mitigation operation that comprises:

generate, by the EC, a mitigation or remediation plan to handle the accident, wherein the mitigation or remediation plan is generated based at least in part upon an accident detection and/or handler policy configured to map contextual information, based upon application of one or more rules, to one or more accident detection and handler commands, notifications, and/or setting;

execute, by the EC, at least a portion of the mitigation or remediation plan to cause one or more of: turn a fan off, or limit speed of at least one processor;

in response to a determination the IHS is in a low-power state, turn the IHS on or wake the IHS up;

determine a selected workload via a Built-In-Self-Test (BIST) based, at least in part, upon a type or severity of the accident; and

execute the selected workload.

10 . The memory device of claim 9 , wherein to collect the thermal data, further program instructions, upon execution, further cause the EC to perform further operations that comprise execute a selected workload.

11 . The memory device of claim 9 , wherein the operations performed by the EC further comprise store at least an initial portion of the thermal data before detection of accident end.

12 . The memory device of claim 9 , wherein the stored thermal data comprises stored chassis temperature data in an absence of damage.

13 . The memory device of claim 9 , wherein the accident remediation or mitigation operation comprises at least one of: notify a user or Information Technology Decision Maker (ITDM), notify a cloud service, initiate a data backup, provide technical support or a warranty service, or dispatch a damaged part to a user of the IHS.

14 . The memory device of claim 9 , wherein further program instructions, upon execution, further cause the EC to perform further operations that comprise select the accident remediation or mitigation operation based, at least in part, upon an accident handling policy or an Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML) model.

15 . A method, comprising:

in response to an accident, collecting acoustic data from at least one sensor, using an always-on Embedded Controller (EC) configured to be coupled with an Information Handling System (IHS) and the at least one sensor;

determining at least in part, a comparison between collected acoustic data and stored acoustic data, based, at least in part, upon executing, by the EC, a slope-based curve-fit algorithm; and

based at least in part upon the comparison, performing an accident remediation or mitigation operation comprising:

generating, by the EC, a mitigation or remediation plan to handle the accident, wherein the mitigation or remediation plan is generated based at least in part upon an accident detection and/or handling policy configured to map contextual information, based upon application of one or more rules, to one or more accident detection and handling commands, notifications, and/or setting;

executing, by the EC, at least a portion of the mitigation or remediation plan to cause one or more of: turning a fan off, or limiting speed of at least one processor;

in response to determining the IHS is in a low-power state, turning the IHS on or waking the IHS up;

determining a selected workload via a Built-In-Self-Test (BIST) based, at least in part, upon a type or severity of the accident;

passing at least a portion of the acoustic data and/or the mitigation or remediation plan to a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) of the IHS when participation of the BIOS is required; and

executing the selected workload.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the selected workload further comprises a diagnostic test selected based on a type or severity of the accident.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the acoustic data further comprises noise data.

18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the stored acoustic data further comprises stored acoustic data in an absence of damage.

19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the accident remediation or mitigation operation further comprises at least one of: notifying a user or Information Technology Decision Maker (ITDM), notifying a cloud service, initiating a data backup, providing technical support or a warranty service, or dispatching a damaged part to a user of an Information Handling System (IHS).

20 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising selecting the accident remediation or mitigation operation based, at least in part, upon an accident handling policy or an Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML) model.