A vacuum pump, in particular for brake booster systems in motor vehicles, with a drivable rotor via which a blade in a housing can be set in rotation is proposed. In this context, the term externally provided means that the module resides in a device other than that used to hold the firmware code, such as a magnetic storage device, typically with a lower cost per bit of information. Other embodiments are also described. The system utilizes the perimeter receiver fiber optics to determine information regarding the height and angle of the probe with respect to the objecttooth being measured.