dToF wins for dark room obstacle avoidance

dToF sensors are usually the better bet. Both work in complete darkness, but dToF is simpler, cheaper, and has no moving parts.

Traditional LIDAR (the spinning or scanning kind) uses a rotating mirror or laser array to map a 360-degree area. It’s great for self-driving cars or large-scale mapping, but for avoiding a coffee table in a dark room, it’s overkill. dToF sensors shoot a single pulse of light and measure the return time directly—think of it as a super-fast laser rangefinder in a tiny chip. They give you a depth map (like the iPhone’s Face ID or a LiDAR scanner on an iPad) without the bulk or cost of a mechanical setup.

For a robot vacuum, drone, or any indoor obstacle avoidance system, dToF is the pragmatic choice. It works in pitch black, doesn’t drift