diff --git a/cpp/Laser.hpp b/cpp/Laser.hpp
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+++ b/cpp/Laser.hpp
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+/**
+*
+* Laser.hpp - C++ headers for Laser model classes
+*
+* Copyright (C) 2014 Simon D. Levy
+
+* This code is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+* it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as 
+* published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the 
+* License, or (at your option) any later version.
+* 
+* This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,     
+* but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY without even the implied warranty of
+* MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+* GNU General Public License for more details.
+* 
+* You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License 
+* along with this code.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <math.h>
+
+#include <iostream>
+#include <vector>
+using namespace std; 
+
+
+/**
+* A class for scanning laser rangefinder (Lidar) parameters.
+*/
+class Laser  
+{
+    friend class CoreSLAM;
+    friend class SinglePositionSLAM;
+    friend class RMHC_SLAM;
+    friend class Scan;
+    
+public:
+    
+    /**
+    * Builds a Laser object from parameters based on the specifications for your 
+    * Lidar unit.
+    * @param scan_size                  number of rays per scan
+    * @param scan_rate_hz               laser scan rate in Hertz
+    * @param detection_angle_degrees    detection angle in degrees (e.g. 240, 360)
+    * @param detection_margin           number of rays at edges of scan to ignore
+    * @param offset_mm                  forward/backward offset of laser motor from robot center
+    * @return a new Laser object
+    * 
+    */
+    Laser(
+        int scan_size,
+        float scan_rate_hz,
+        float detection_angle_degrees,
+        float distance_no_detection_mm,
+        int detection_margin = 0,
+        float offset_mm = 0.
+        );
+    
+    /**
+    * Builds an empty Laser object (all parameters zero).
+    */
+    Laser(void);
+    
+    /**
+    * Dealloates memory for this Laser object.
+    */
+    ~Laser(void);
+    
+    
+    friend ostream& operator<< (ostream & out, Laser & laser);
+
+private:
+    
+    struct laser_t * laser;
+    
+};
+    
+class URG04LX : public Laser  
+{
+    
+public:
+    
+    /**
+    * Builds a Laser object from parameters based on the specifications for your 
+    * Lidar unit.
+    * @param detection_margin           number of rays at edges of scan to ignore
+    * @param offset_mm                  forward/backward offset of laser motor from robot center
+    * @return a new URG04LX object
+    * 
+    */
+    URG04LX(int detection_margin = 0, float offset_mm = 0) : 
+    Laser(682, 10, 240, 4000, detection_margin, offset_mm) { }
+    
+    /**
+    * Builds an empty Laser object (all parameters zero).
+    */
+    URG04LX(void) : Laser() {} 
+    
+};
+