As sophisticated as today's braking systems are – and if you've driven anything pre-1980 you can certainly appreciate exactly how sophisticated – they're nothing to what some car companies are planning for the future.
Mercedes-Benz, for example, has Sensotronic Brake Control (SBC) just over its technology horizon, and this electronic system will provide actual braking beyond anything now available and then do things that go beyond traditional braking.
On the former point, SBC uses electric impulses to send the driver's braking commands into a microcomputer which processes various sensor signals simultaneously and, depending on the driving situation, calculates the optimum brake pressure for each wheel. As a result, SBC should offer even greater active safety than conventional brake systems when braking in a corner or on a slippery surface because a high-pressure reservoir and electronically-controllable valves ensure that maximum brake pressure is available much sooner.
On the latter point, consider Traffic Jam Assist, which brakes the vehicle automatically in stop-and-go traffic once the driver releases the accelerator, or Soft-Stop, which provides soft and smooth stopping in urban traffic.
SBC and other such systems that other car companies are undoubtedly developing will be possible through the development of "mechatronics," which is the trendy new buzzword describing the melding of mechanics and electronics. With mechatronics, functions which previously worked purely mechanically and partly with hydraulic assistance will in future be controlled by high-performance microcomputers and electronically-controllable actuators. These will either replace the conventional mechanical components or enhance their function.