In the paper, we proposed a ring type structured light image based embedded ranging sensor for a mobile robot. Since the proposed ranging sensor obtains omnidirectional object distance, it is useful for autonomous navigation of a mobile robot. By matching the local omnidirectional distance map with a given global object map, it is possible to get position and heading angle of mobile robot in the global coordinates. Experiments for matching and navigation were carried out to verify the performance of the proposed ranging sensor.