<ul><li>Lidar and high-powered lasers, common in cars and entertainment venues, can cause permanent damage to smartphone cameras built to withstand everyday wear.</li><li>Lidar equipment used in cars and stage shows can silently and permanently destroy a camera sensor. A burst from a car's lidar sensor hit an iPhone's lens, leaving behind a cluster of fried pixels in red and purple hues.</li><li>Volvo confirmed that pointing cameras directly at lidar units can damage image sensors. The risk increases at close range where the beam is more concentrated.</li><li>Apart from Volvos, lidar is increasingly common in the auto industry. Tesla, despite once dismissing lidar as unnecessary, has purchased over $2.1 million in lidar hardware from Luminar Technologies.</li></ul>

Lidar is great for cars, but it can permanently damage cameras

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