[…] That pod on the roof of Volvo’s new electric SUV is essentially just shooting out a bunch of high-powered infrared beams, determining the distance of the vehicle’s surroundings by measuring the time taken for reflected light to return to the sensor. If you point your phone’s camera directly at those beams, you’ll observe some strange phenomena, like what’s happening in the image above. What you’re seeing is a laser frying pixels on one of the device’s image sensors.
Credit to Reddit user Jeguetelli, who broke their smartphone for science, so the rest of us know what not to do. The constellation of artifacts disappears because the person filming zooms out, prompting the phone to switch to a shorter lens backed by a separate, healthy image sensor. To assuage the fears of some concerned redditors, this is presumably why lidar doesn’t pose the same threat to backup cameras on other vehicles, which also typically use ultra-wide-angle lenses.
Never film the new Ex90 because you will break your cell camera.Lidar lasers burn your camera.
byu/Jeguetelli inVolvoIt 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. “Do not point a camera directly at the lidar,” one support page admonishes in no uncertain terms. Unfortunately, while that sort of information might be clear to owners (the ones who crack open their vehicles’ manuals, anyway), this is something the entire public ought to be aware of, especially as semi-autonomous cars with lidar systems become more common on our streets.
The Drive reached out to Volvo for a little more insight into the issue, as well as any other recommendations. “It’s generally advised to avoid pointing a camera directly at a lidar sensor,” a representative responded over email. “The laser light emitted by the lidar can potentially damage the camera’s sensor or affect its performance.”
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Source: Volvo EX90’s Lidar Sensor Will Fry Your Phone’s Camera
Which kind of makes you wonder, what else does this LIDAR fry?
Robin Edgar
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