Perception

Time-of-Flight Sensor (ToF)

A time-of-flight sensor is a range sensor that measures distance from the round-trip travel time of emitted light, either directly with pulsed lasers or indirectly from the phase shift of modulated illumination. ToF depth cameras capture full depth images at video rates without the texture dependence of stereo, though they contend with multipath interference, ambient sunlight, and reflective or absorptive surfaces. LiDAR is the scanning, long-range member of the same family.

Why it matters for physical AI

Compact, low-cost depth sensing feeds the 3D observations that manipulation and navigation policies rely on, and the specific noise characteristics of ToF sensors are an important component of the sim-to-real gap for depth-based policies.