Are you suggesting that they use the aura cutting laser as its rangefinder?
Basically the way it works in the performance models is that the Red dot laser is at an angle, then the camera picks up its position and calculates the distance to the material. Pretty simple Trigonometry.
In theory it would be possible to have the camera angled and then use the position of the laser dot from the cutting laser on the aura to derive a material distance.
I’ve always wondered if it uses a laser rangefinder like that or it uses something more solid state like an infrared emitter and receiver.
I’ve also always wondered whether or not the diode laser diver is enough that they really need to worry about it. It’s possible that the laser is in sharpen focus throughout the entire acceptable cutting height, and then there’s actually no focus at all in the aura.
No one to my knowledge has tried to do a defocus test with the aura to see how wide the beam can get. My aura is in a box at this point, so someone who has an aura up and running… Maybe you can test that?
Something like: