Vehicular automatic braking system

A vehicular automatic braking system, the vehicular automatic braking system comprising:

• a forward-viewing camera disposed behind a windshield of a vehicle equipped with the vehicular automatic braking system and viewing at least forward of the equipped vehicle through the windshield;
• wherein said forward-viewing camera comprises a photosensor array having rows and columns of photosensor elements and comprising at least one million photosensor elements;
• a rearward-viewing camera disposed at the equipped vehicle and viewing at least rearward of the equipped vehicle;
• wherein said rearward-viewing camera comprises a photosensor array having rows and columns of photosensor elements and comprising at least one million photosensor elements;
• a radar sensor disposed at the equipped vehicle, said radar sensor sensing at least forward of the equipped vehicle;
• a control disposed at the equipped vehicle;
• said control comprising an image processor operable to process image data captured by said forward-viewing camera;
• said control operable to process image data captured by said rearward-viewing camera;
• said control operable to process radar data captured by said radar sensor;
• wherein, when the equipped vehicle is travelling in a traffic lane of a road being traveled along by the equipped vehicle and responsive at least in part to processing at said control of image data captured by said forward-viewing camera and to processing at said control of radar data captured by said radar sensor, an object present forwardly of the equipped vehicle is detected;
• wherein the detected object comprises a leading vehicle present forwardly of the equipped vehicle;
• wherein the leading vehicle present forwardly of the equipped vehicle is travelling in the traffic lane being traveled along by the equipped vehicle;
• wherein, in order to mitigate collision by the equipped vehicle with the detected object and in order to mitigate collision by a determined following vehicle with the equipped vehicle, said control determines a degree of braking of the equipped vehicle responsive to comparison between (i) rate of approach and distance of the equipped vehicle to the detected object and (ii) rate of approach and distance of the determined following vehicle to the equipped vehicle;
• wherein braking of the equipped vehicle is controlled at the determined degree of braking to mitigate collision by the equipped vehicle with the detected object;
• wherein, when the equipped vehicle is traveling in the traffic lane of the road being traveled along by the equipped vehicle and responsive at least in part to determination that the traveling equipped vehicle is approaching the detected object and when the determined following vehicle is beyond a first threshold distance from the equipped vehicle and is approaching the equipped vehicle below a first threshold rate of approach, braking of the equipped vehicle is controlled at a first degree of braking;
• and
• wherein, when the equipped vehicle is traveling in the traffic lane of the road being traveled along by the equipped vehicle and responsive at least in part to determination that the traveling equipped vehicle is approaching the detected object and responsive at least in part to determination of the determined following vehicle being within a second threshold distance from the equipped vehicle that is less than the first threshold distance and approaching the equipped vehicle above a second threshold rate of approach, braking of the equipped vehicle is controlled at a second degree of braking, and wherein the second degree of braking is less than the first degree of braking.

A vehicular automatic braking system, the vehicular automatic braking system comprising:

• a forward-viewing camera disposed behind a windshield of a vehicle equipped with the vehicular automatic braking system and viewing at least forward of the equipped vehicle through the windshield;
• wherein said forward-viewing camera comprises a photosensor array having rows and columns of photosensor elements and comprising at least one million photosensor elements;
• a rearward-viewing camera disposed at the equipped vehicle and viewing at least rearward of the equipped vehicle;
• wherein said rearward-viewing camera comprises a photosensor array having rows and columns of photosensor elements and comprising at least one million photosensor elements;
• a radar sensor disposed at the equipped vehicle, said radar sensor sensing at least forward of the equipped vehicle;
• a control disposed at the equipped vehicle;
• said control comprising an image processor operable to process image data captured by said forward-viewing camera;
• said control operable to process image data captured by said rearward-viewing camera;
• said control operable to process radar data captured by said radar sensor;
• wherein, responsive at least in part to processing by said image processor of image data captured by said forward-viewing camera, said control is operable to detect a traffic light ahead of the equipped vehicle;
• wherein, when the equipped vehicle is travelling in a traffic lane of a road being traveled along by the equipped vehicle and responsive at least in part to processing at said control of image data captured by said forward-viewing camera and to processing at said control of radar data captured by said radar sensor, an object present forwardly of the equipped vehicle is detected;
• wherein the detected object comprises a leading vehicle present forwardly of the equipped vehicle;
• wherein the leading vehicle present forwardly of the equipped vehicle is travelling in the traffic lane being traveled along by the equipped vehicle;
• wherein, in order to mitigate collision by the equipped vehicle with the detected object and in order to mitigate collision by a determined following vehicle with the equipped vehicle, said control determines a degree of braking of the equipped vehicle responsive to comparison between (i) rate of approach and distance of the equipped vehicle to the detected object and (ii) rate of approach and distance of the determined following vehicle to the equipped vehicle;
• wherein, responsive to determination that the traveling equipped vehicle is approaching the detected object and responsive to rate of approach and distance of the equipped vehicle to the detected object, the vehicular automatic braking system generates an alert to a driver of the equipped vehicle;
• wherein braking of the equipped vehicle is automatically controllable to mitigate collision by the equipped vehicle with the detected object;
• wherein, when the equipped vehicle is traveling in the traffic lane of the road being traveled along by the equipped vehicle and responsive at least in part to determination that the traveling equipped vehicle is approaching the detected object and when the determined following vehicle is beyond a first threshold distance from the equipped vehicle and is approaching the equipped vehicle below a first threshold rate of approach, braking of the equipped vehicle is controlled at a first degree of braking;
• and
• wherein, when the equipped vehicle is traveling in the traffic lane of the road being traveled along by the equipped vehicle and responsive at least in part to determination that the traveling equipped vehicle is approaching the detected object and responsive at least in part to determination of the determined following vehicle being within a second threshold distance from the equipped vehicle that is less than the first threshold distance and approaching the equipped vehicle above a second threshold rate of approach, braking of the equipped vehicle is controlled at a second degree of braking, and wherein the second degree of braking is less than the first degree of braking.