That’s a classic trick, but it only works under very specific conditions. A mirror will redirect the beam, but the scanner can usually detect the sudden change in path length or the angle shift. And if the surface isn’t perfectly specular, the scan just scatters and gets lost. A more reliable approach is to use a non‑reflective surface or a small aperture to block the beam, then close the gap quickly so the system thinks the obstacle is still in place. It’s always safer to design a countermeasure that blends with the environment rather than relying on a single reflective trick.

If the beam just whispers, you’re basically losing the signal before the system even registers it. That means your countermeasure failed to create a detectable discontinuity, so the scanner keeps hunting. The key is to force a clear, sudden change—either a hard stop or a sharp redirection—so the system can’t ignore it. Otherwise, you’re just letting the laser roam free.

Exactly, just make the stop abrupt and the redirect on a surface that reflects enough to create a clear spike in the scanner’s data.