Lethal Lidar: Volvo SUV’s Infrared Beam Fries Smartphone Camera

High-powered lidar systems—commonly used in autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles—emit infrared laser beams to map their environments. While invisible to the human eye, these beams can damage smartphone camera sensors, as one Reddit user recently discovered the hard way. 

Reddit user Jeguetelli recently shared a video on the r/Volvo subreddit showing a smartphone camera’s image sensor being fried after filming the front-mounted lidar sensor on the Volvo EX90—a fully electric, seven-seat luxury SUV that serves as Volvo’s flagship entry into the electric vehicle market.

“Never film the new Ex90 because you will break your cell camera.Lidar lasers burn your camera,” Jeguetelli wrote. 

Auto blog The Drive pointed out, “It should be said that the risk here is inherent to lidar technology, and has nothing to do with Volvo’s specific implementation on the EX90. In fact, earlier this year, the automaker even issued a warning against directing external cameras at the vehicle’s lidar pod for the very reasons discussed.”

Filming this car’s lidar system breaks the phone camerapic.twitter.com/99rfffYS1l

— Interesting things (@awkwardgoogle) May 14, 2025

Volvo’s website states:

Lidar light waves can damage external cameras: 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.

“Would this damage your car’s backup camera, if a LIDAR equipped car tailgates you?” one Redditor asked. 

Another person said, “Thank god for Apple Care.” 

The ongoing debate in the tech world centers on LiDAR vs. cameras—a big divide in the race toward fully autonomous vehicles, especially when comparing Tesla’s camera-only approach to rivals embracing LiDAR.

Elon Musk famously called LiDAR a “crutch,” arguing that camera vision powered by advanced AI is sufficient for FSD.

“In my view, it’s a crutch that will drive companies to a local maximum that they will find very hard to get out of.” Musk said several years ago, adding, “Perhaps I am wrong, and I will look like a fool. But I am quite certain that I am not.”

The Counterargument: Tesla’s competitors argue that LiDAR provides critical redundancy and reliability, especially for safety-critical applications like robotaxis.

The proliferation of LiDAR sensors on vehicles should come with a public service warning: avoid pointing smartphone cameras at these devices emitting infrared laser beams—they can permanently damage image sensors.

Also, will LiDAR risk burning camera sensors on Tesla vehicles?