How does it work?

External unit (head). This metal box holds a delicate circuitry for infrared laser light detection, and a high power infrared laser transmission diode. The incoming infrared light is focused by internal lens on the the detection diode, and then amplified and processed. The laser diode emits similar pulses to those transmitted by LIDAR.
As our design uses a real laser diode, instead of the cheap infrared LED found in TV remote controls, it is much more effective and reliable.