Lidar Can Permanently Damage Your Phone's Camera

Reddit

With the gradual rise of semi-autonomous vehicles, there will likely be multiple cameras pointing back when you pull out a phone to take a photo or record video of a car. One reddit user found out earlier this month that car-mounted lidar sensors can damage a phone camera under certain circumstances. It was the technological equivalent of staring directly into the Sun. Their phone's camera was toast, but only because it was close-up and pointed directly at the lidar sensor.

Reddit user u/Jeguetelli posted worrying footage of a brand new Volvo EX90 from his iPhone 16 Pro Max. Nothing was wrong with the crossover SUV. That was the problem. The lidar sensor mounted in a pod above the windshield shot out a laser barrage of near-infrared light into the camera. The damage was immediate and obvious, leaving behind a red, pink and purple constellation of fried pixels. You can tell the permanent damage was to that specific lens because the image returned to normal after zooming out to a different lens. Jeguetelli didn't seem too concerned about the incident because he had Apple Care.

Volvo

For its part, Volvo warns vehicle owners not to point cameras at the lidar sensor. The Swedish manufacturer told the Drive, "It's generally advised to avoid pointing a camera directly at a lidar sensor. The laser light emitted by the lidar can potentially damage the camera's sensor or affect its performance." The automaker noted that cameras are most vulnerable when close up and pointed right at the sensor. That said, it's like looking into the Sun; just don't do it.

As a sign of lidar's increasing reach in the automotive world, Tesla may finally adopt the technology despite Elon Musk's long-time skepticism against "expensive and unnecessary" lidar sensors and his aversion to attaching sensor pods to the automaker's cars. Luminar Technologies announced in the Q1 financial report earlier this month that Tesla was its largest customer. The divisive electric automaker purchased $2.1 million in lidar equipment.