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WATCH: Why you shouldn’t point your camera at a LIDAR sensor

One Reddit user learned this lesson the hard way

Never film the new Ex90 because you will break your cell camera.Lidar lasers burn your camera.
byu/Jeguetelli inVolvo

Appearing in everything from next-gen humanoid robots to self-driving cars, the odds of running into a LIDAR sensor out in the wild are increasing each day. While these sensors contribute to making life a little easier, they also pose a risk to cameras everywhere. Take this clip for example, which was posted to the Volvo subreddit. While recording video of the new Volvo EX90, Reddit user Jeguetelli unwittingly did permanent damage to their iPhone 16 Pro Max’s camera sensor.

Zooming in on the car’s LIDAR sensor caused the sensor’s near-infrared light to scorch the phone’s camera. As the car enthusiasts at Jalopnik point out, pointing a camera close to a LIDAR sensor is “the technological equivalent of staring directly into the Sun.” As these sensors become more ubiquitous in our daily lives, be vigilant in protecting your cameras!

 

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