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Laser rangefinders for drone gimbals and UAV payloads

A gimbal payload has a mass budget in the low hundreds of grams, a 12 V rail and a requirement to range a target the camera can see. That combination narrows the catalogue quickly.

What the payload actually constrains

Mass, then power, then interface. A 58–90 g 1535 nm module with 6–8 km published range is the sweet spot for a stabilised gimbal: heavy enough to be a real sensor, light enough not to dominate the payload. If the mission is short range against ground targets, a 12–32 g 905 nm module with a 1–3 km range and a kilohertz-capable interface is the better trade, because it also gives you a fast update rate for tracking.

Interface in practice

Most gimbal integrators run UART at 115200 baud to the gimbal controller and a discrete trigger for the shot. At 6–8 km the rate is 1–10 Hz, which is fine for designation and marginal for tracking a fast mover — decide which of the two you are building.

What we will ask you

• Target size and reflectance at the operating distance.
• Gimbal stabilisation error, because it sets the beam-divergence budget.
• Whether the range is used for designation, geo-location or focus.

Modules that fit this application

Shortlist is a starting point, not a recommendation — the right module depends on target, visibility and pointing error. Filter the full matrix.