Robust optical aimer for triangulation-based distance measurement

An apparatus of an optical scanner for scanning a subject, the apparatus comprising:

• interface circuitry including an input to receive an at least one image from at least one image-capture device of the optical scanner;
• and
• controller circuitry coupled to the interface circuitry and the input, the controller circuitry operative to process the at least one image to determine ranging between the optical scanner and the subject based on (a) projection of at least one aimer beam by an aimer transmitter system of the optical scanner to produce a corresponding at least one reflection off of a surface of the subject, and (b) detection of a position of the at least one aimer-beam reflection within the at least one image, wherein:
• the position of the at least one aimer-beam reflection within the image is a primary indicator of a distance between the surface of the subject and the at least one image-capture device of the optical scanner;
• and
• the at least one image includes a secondary indicator of the distance between the surface of the object and the at least one image-capture device, and wherein the secondary indicator is used in combination with the first indicator to detect an occurrence of an optical misalignment of the optical scanner.