有很多现成的测距组件包括超声波、红外线、甚至是激光测距仪。这些设备运行的很好，但是对于飞行机器人来说，重量是一个主要考虑因素。一个可行的办法是增加现有组件的功能，并安装在机身上。例如微型空中机器人的有效载荷是100g。它能利用USB连接的摄像头（或mini无线摄像头）执行视觉任务，例如避障等。更好的是，如采用两个摄像头，能提供立体的机器视觉，这样能增强避障性能，因为双镜头提供了视觉深度。但缺点是需要增加另外一个摄像头的重量。这篇文章就是讨论如何利用一个激光笔和一个摄像头来提供一个单镜头机器视觉和测距的。-There are many off the shelf range finding components available including ultrasonic, infrared, and even laser rangefinders. All of these devices work well, but in the field of aerial robotics, weight is a primary concern. It is desirable to get as much ality out of each component that is added to an air. Miniature robotic rotorcraft for example can carry about 100g of payload. It is possible to perform machine vision tasks such as obstacle identification and avoidance though the use of a webcam (or mini wireless camera interfaced to a computer via USB adaptor). Better yet, two webcams can provide stereo machine vision thus improving obstacle avoidance because depth can be determined. The drawback of this of course is the addition of the weight of a second camera. This page describes how a mini laser pointer can be configured along with a single camera to provide mono-machine vision with range information.