Computer vision

JAI makes a great computer vision camera that has a linux stack in it and just sends you the necessary info over CAT5

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I know it looks like a coffee maker that says sick on it but it is a laser based topographic range finder made by SICK who also make some other interesting computer vision and sensing products. There are a number of companies that make this type of range finder as mentioned in this post

They’re a common fixture on many robotic platforms, especially DARPA Grand Challenge vehicles. Of course, the SICK is not the only lidar around; numerous competitors have popped up, such as the Velodyne (below left) and a number of capable Hokuyo laser rangefinders (the four pictured below on the right available from Acroname). Generally my preferences have drifted toward the Hokuyo line, which are lower-cost, better form-factor, and have lower power requirements, but the SICK line is steadily re-gaining ground.