The specs for this component say it has an LED pulse cycle duration of 32ms. What exactly does this mean? I assume it has something to do with being able to place two of the same type of sensor next to one another and avoid one picking up the light from the other. It would be really nice to know how this works though. Any info is appreciated.

Thanks!

Think, Fig.3 Timing chart partly will answer on your question :
http://www.lynxmotion.com/images/data/gp2d12.pdf