Short range LiDAR sensors represent a pivotal advancement in proximity sensing and spatial mapping technologies. Unlike their long-range counterparts used in autonomous vehicles for highway navigation, short range LiDAR operates effectively within distances typically under 30 meters, often as close as a few centimeters. This technology emits rapid pulses of laser light and measures the time it takes for each pulse to reflect off a surface and return to the sensor. By calculating this "time of flight," the sensor generates precise, high-resolution three-dimensional point cloud data of its immediate environment. The core components include a laser emitter, a sensitive photodetector, and a sophisticated processing unit. Modern iterations often utilize solid-state designs, which have no moving parts, leading to significant improvements in reliability, size reduction, and cost-effectiveness. These sensors are engineered for high accuracy in distance measurement, often down to the millimeter level, and possess a high frame rate, allowing for the real-time capture of dynamic scenes. One of their critical advantages is performance under varying lighting conditions. Since they rely on their own active light source, short range LiDAR systems are largely unaffected by ambient light, functioning reliably in complete darkness or in blinding sunlight. This makes them vastly superior to traditional camera-based or ultrasonic systems in many scenarios. The data output is inherently three-dimensional and precise, providing not just the presence of an object but its exact shape, contour, and distance. This rich spatial information is the driving force behind their integration into numerous fields. In industrial automation and robotics, these sensors are indispensable for precise bin picking, where a robotic arm must identify and grasp randomly oriented parts from a container. They guide automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) through complex, dynamic warehouse floors, avoiding obstacles and personnel with high reliability. For quality control on assembly lines, short range LiDAR performs non-contact, high-speed measurements to verify dimensions and detect surface defects. Beyond manufacturing, the technology is revolutionizing human-machine interaction. Consumer electronics, such as smartphones and tablets, use miniature short range LiDAR sensors for augmented reality applications, enabling realistic object placement and interaction in the real world. In the logistics sector, they are deployed in smart parcel dimensioning systems, quickly and accurately measuring package sizes for optimal storage and shipping cost calculation. The development of smarter cities also leverages this technology for traffic monitoring at intersections, pedestrian detection for smart crosswalks, and occupancy sensing in smart buildings. As the technology matures, key trends are focused on further miniaturization, power consumption reduction, and cost reduction, which will unlock even broader adoption. The fusion of LiDAR data with inputs from cameras, radars, and inertial sensors through advanced sensor fusion algorithms is creating more robust and intelligent perception systems. Looking ahead, short range LiDAR is poised to become a ubiquitous sensing modality, embedded into everything from domestic appliances and security systems to advanced prosthetics and interactive retail displays, fundamentally shaping how machines perceive and interact with the world at close quarters.