An additional factor with these systems is that light around the 1550 nm wavelength band (common for optical amplifiers) is regarded as relatively low risk, since the eye fluids absorb the light before it is focused on the retina. This tends to reduce the overall risk factor of such systems.

And remember

To heat 1 cm³ of water by 1°C, you need approximately 4.184 joules of energy, as 1 calorie is defined as the energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1°C, and 1 cm³ of water has a mass of about 1 gram.

So to heat your eye of 1cm3 in 1 second you need 4.2 watts of infrared to enter your eye. That sounds too much power for lidar, but couldn't find quickly how much power is emitted by lidar though...

If you go to luminartech own website, on the home page, if you scroll abit down, they have a LiDAR 1550nm vs 905nm section and a downloadable 7 page pdf where you can read about it. It's of course biased because they themselves are making it, so bear that in mind.