Can A Car's LiDAR Sensor Damage Your Phone Camera? Viral Video Sparks Debate

NDTV

27-05-2025

A video going viral on social media claims that pointing the phone camera directly at a car's LiDAR sensor could be an expensive affair. In the 18-second clip, the OP can be seen filming the Volvo EX90 electric SUV, which comes with LiDAR technology to make the driving experience smoother and safer. As the camera zooms into the LiDAR sensor, it is immediately peppered by a galaxy of colourful dots which form over the exact spot that flashing light from the sensor hits.
LiDAR, short for light detection and ranging, is the eye of modern autonomous systems. The technology uses infrared light waves to collect information about the car's surroundings and identify the distance to objects and certain aspects of their movement or appearance.
While some claimed that the video was edited, subject experts revealed that smartphone cameras can indeed be damaged when they are pointed straight at the LiDAR sensor.
"Yeah, this is a real thing. As a professional videographer, it has happened to colleagues of mine," said one social media user, while another added: "People freaking out with microwave oven while they are totally fine with car Lidar which beams out high energy high frequency laser."
A third commented: "So that means we probably shouldn't be looking at the car lasers with our face-eyes either, right?"
Filming this car's LiDAR system breaks the phone camera pic.twitter.com/PVMGhpvzbt
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) May 15, 2025
Volvo warns
Even Volvo, on its website, has issued an official warning, reminding people not to point their cameras or any other device at the sensor.
"Do not point a camera directly at the lidar. The lidar, being a laser-based system, uses infrared light waves that may cause damage to certain camera devices. This can include smartphones or phones equipped with a camera," read the statement.
Though it is not advisable to look directly into LiDAR sensors, Volvo uses 1665-nanometer lasers, which is believed to be harmless as the light cannot reach the retina at that wavelength.
While Volvo uses LiDAR for its autonomous vehicles, Elon Musk's Tesla relies on a combination of cameras for navigation. The billionaire famously called LiDAR a 'crutch' for autonomous vehicles, claiming that they were expensive and not needed for the self-driving technology.