Depends on the type of LIDAR. LIDAR rated for vehicle use is at a wavelength opaque to the eyes so it hits the surface and fluid of your eye and reflects back rather than going through to your cones and rods.

It isn't however opaque for optical glass (since the LIDAR has to shine through optical glass in the first place) so it hits your camera lens, goes straight through, and slams the sensor.

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dllu 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

You seem to be implying that all automotive lidar are 1550 nm but that's not true. While there are lots of 1550 nm automotive lidars (Luminar on Volvo, Seyond on NIO) there are also plenty of 850 nm to 940 nm lidars are used in cars (Hesai, Robosense, etc). Those can pass through water and get focused to your retina, but they are also a lot lower power so they do not damage cameras.

	▲	culi 18 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Also although that energy longer than 1400nm is generally absorbed by the cornea and lens, it is still energy, and it is not a hard bandpass filter per se. Safety is relative at higher wattages.
	▲	OneDeuxTriSeiGo 18 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		NGL I thought sub 1550nm LIDAR had been banned for use in new automotive applications already? I clearly must be mistaken but I had thought that was the case.

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kappi 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

During the presentation, Rivian speaker specifically said it is safe for your camera sensors. Check the youtube video of their presentation

	▲	OneDeuxTriSeiGo 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Ah. Theirs may be then. In which case they are probably using a different wavelength and a different glass. I was just speaking in terms of the commonplace LIDAR solutions for road use.