Systems and methods for performing optical distance measurement are provided. In one aspect, a system for measuring a distance to an object comprises a light emitter configured to emit an outbound light pulse, and a light sensor configured to receive a returning light pulse reflected from the object and output an analog pulse signal representing the returning light pulse. The system also comprises a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) coupled to the light sensor. The FPGA is configured to convert the analog pulse signal to a plurality of digital signal values, and generate a plurality of time measurements corresponding to the plurality of digital signal values. The system also comprises a controller configured to calculate the distance to the object based on the plurality of digital signal values and the plurality of time measurements.