A commercially available position measuring device, Lasernet, was donated by the Namco Controls Corporation. A single narrow-beam laser is continuously swept across the field at a fixed height. A reflector of known geometry on the vehicle reflects the beam back to the device, which reports the initial angle, in the local geographic frame, at which a reflection is detected and the angular width over which the reflection is continuously detected. Knowing the geometry of the reflector, which should be independent of the heading of the aircraft, is sufficient to determine the vehicle's two-dimensional position in the local geographic frame.
The range of this device is limited to approximately forty feet, constraining its usefulness to one end of the competition arena. Additionally, the device will only detect a reflection if the altitude of the vehicle's reflector equals the fixed height of the narrow-beam laser. These two constraints prevent this device from satisfying all of the navigation requirements. However, this device will provide better accuracy than the acoustic system and, therefore, will be used to provide precise navigation for retrieving disks.