A sensor system for detecting a characteristic of a target object is described. The sensor system can include a sensor, such as a magnetic sensor, configured to sense magnet field components and to generate corresponding magnet field component signals based on the sensed magnet field components. The sensor system can include a processor that is configured to calculate a magnetic field angle based third magnetic field components. For example, the magnetic field angle can be calculated by determining a quadratic sum of a plurality of the magnetic field components. The characteristic of the target object can be determined based on the calculated magnetic field angle.