Embodiments of the invention provide a pool cleaner control system including a laser range finder with a first laser line generator, a second laser line generator, and a camera. The first laser line generator and the second laser line generator are positioned to emit parallel laser lines and the camera is positioned to capture an image of the laser lines projected on an object. The control system also includes a controller in communication with the laser range finder and configured to control operation of the laser line generators to emit the laser lines and to control the camera to capture the image. The controller is also configured to receive the image from the camera, calculate a pixel distance between the laser lines in the image, and calculate the physical distance between the camera and the object based on the pixel distance.