Combined imaging and distance monitoring for vehicular applications

1. A vehicular arrangement for obtaining information about objects exterior to the vehicle, comprising:

at least one combined imaging and distance measuring system arranged along the windshield, an edge or a side of the vehicle, each of said at least one combined system including:

an infrared illuminator for directing infrared illumination outward from the vehicle;

an imager sensitive to infrared illumination, said imager being arranged to form images of an environment around the vehicle including objects;

at least one distance determining system, each comprising a source of a directed narrow beam of electromagnetic waves separate from said infrared illuminator and a receiver for receiving reflections of the electromagnetic waves, arranged to, after images of the environment around the vehicle have been formed by said imager, simultaneously determine a distance between the vehicle and objects in images obtained by said imager; and

a reactive system arranged on the vehicle to consider both the presence of the objects and their distance from the vehicle and react accordingly,

at least one of the illumination from said infrared illuminator or the electromagnetic waves from said source being in an eye-safe range.

2. The arrangement of claim 1 , wherein said at least one distance determining system comprises a plurality of distance determining systems.

3. The arrangement of claim 2 , wherein each of said distance determining systems comprises a pin or avalanche diode.

4. The arrangement of claim 1 , wherein said distance determining system is arranged to determine the distance by measuring the time of flight of a laser pulse or through modulation techniques including amplitude, phase, frequency, noise and pulse modulation.

5. The arrangement of claim 1 , wherein said distance determining system comprises a scanning laser.

6. The arrangement of claim 1 , further comprising a cylindrical lens through which illumination is directed by said infrared illuminator and through which infrared illumination reflected from objects exterior of the vehicle is directed to said imager.

7. The arrangement of claim 6 , wherein said lens is arranged to create a horizontal field of illumination of about 90 or about 180 degrees and a vertical field of illumination of about 10 degrees.

8. The arrangement of claim 1 , wherein said infrared illuminator is arranged to direct infrared illumination only when natural light alone does not enable formation of images of the environment around the vehicle such that when natural light is adequate to enable formation of images of the environment around the vehicle, said infrared illuminator does not direct infrared illumination.

9. The arrangement of claim 1 , wherein said reactive system is a system which limits the speed of the vehicle such that the speed of the vehicle can be limited in the presence of other objects or vehicles within a threshold distance from the vehicle.

10. The arrangement of claim 1 , wherein said reactive system is a warning system for providing a warning to a driver of the vehicle about the objects exterior of the vehicle.

11. The arrangement of claim 1 , further comprising a processor coupled to said combined imaging and distance measuring system for determining a velocity of objects exterior of the vehicle by analyzing multiple determinations of the distance between the vehicle and the same objects.

12. The arrangement of claim 1 , wherein said distance determining system is arranged to provide a variable divergence angle of beams being emitted therefrom, the divergence angle varying based on a distance between the vehicle and objects exterior of the vehicle.

13. A vehicle, comprising:

the arrangement of claim 1 having four combined imaging and distance measuring systems, one arranged at each of the four corners or four sides of the vehicle, and which are coupled to one or more common reactive systems.

14. The vehicle of claim 13 , wherein at least one of said four combined imaging and distance measuring systems is located on or near a roof of the vehicle.

15. A vehicle, comprising:

at least one combined imaging and distance measuring system, each arranged at a respective corner of the vehicle or on a respective side of the vehicle, each of said at least one combined imaging and distance measuring system including:

an infrared illuminator for directing infrared illumination outward from the vehicle;

an imager sensitive to infrared illumination, said imager being arranged to form images of an environment around the vehicle including objects;

at least one distance determining system, each comprising a source of a directed narrow beam of electromagnetic waves separate from said infrared illuminator and a receiver for receiving reflections of the electromagnetic waves, arranged to, after images of the environment around the vehicle have been formed by said imager, simultaneously determine a distance between the vehicle and objects in images obtained by said imager; and

a common reactive system arranged on the vehicle and coupled to said at least one combined imaging and distance measuring system, said reactive system being arranged to consider both the presence of the objects and their distance from the vehicle and react accordingly,

at least one of the illumination from said infrared illuminator or the electromagnetic waves from said source being in an eye-safe range.

16. The vehicle of claim 15 , wherein said reactive system is a system which limits the speed of the vehicle such that the speed of the vehicle can be limited in the presence of other objects or vehicles within a threshold distance from the vehicle.

17. The vehicle of claim 15 , wherein said reactive system is a warning system for providing a warning to a driver of the vehicle about the objects exterior of the vehicle.

18. A method for operating a vehicle in consideration of exterior to the vehicle, comprising:

arranging at least one combined imaging and distance measuring system arranged along an edge of the vehicle or at a corner of the vehicle, each of the at least one combined system including an infrared illuminator for directing infrared illumination outward from the vehicle, an imager sensitive to infrared illumination and a distance determining system that comprises a source of a directed narrow beam of electromagnetic waves separate from the infrared illuminator and a receiver for receiving reflections of the electromagnetic waves;

simultaneously determining using the distance determining system, a distance between the vehicle and objects in images obtained by the imager;

monitoring using a processor, the objects and their distance from the vehicle; and

undertaking an action to prevent an accident between the vehicle and the object based on the monitored objects and their distance from the vehicle,

at least one of the illumination from the infrared illuminator or the electromagnetic waves from the source being in an eye-safe range.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the step of undertaking an action comprises limiting the speed of the vehicle in the presence of other vehicles determined to be within a threshold distance from the vehicle.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the step of undertaking an action comprises providing a warning to a driver of the vehicle about the objects exterior of the vehicle.

21. The arrangement of claim 1 , wherein said imager is further arranged to identify objects in the images such that said at least one distance determining system is arranged to simultaneously determine a distance between the vehicle and objects identified in images obtained by said imager with the identification of the objects in the images, said reactive system being arranged to consider both the identification of the objects and their distance from the vehicle and react accordingly.

22. The vehicle of claim 15 , wherein said imager is further arranged to identify objects in the images such that said at least one distance determining system is arranged to simultaneously determine a distance between the vehicle and objects identified in images obtained by said imager with the identification of the objects in the images, said reactive system being arranged to consider both the identification of the objects and their distance from the vehicle and react accordingly.

23. The method of claim 18 , further comprising identifying objects in images obtained by the imager using a processor, wherein the step of undertaking an action comprises considering the identification of the objects when determining the action to undertake.