Probably one factor is range. The article talks about 200-300m range, a robot vacuum has maybe 10m best case?

For example this one has 120m range with 1cm accuracy and its 15 euros: https://www.temu.com/bg-en/-digital-laser-distance-meter-50m...

Outside in the sun against other cars or inside against a wall?

Is the 1 cm spec 1σ (or less) or worst-case? It’s a safety-critical application.