The S60 (seen here) is only the latest in Caterpillar’s rugged smartphone lineup, which included the launch of the S50, S40 and S50c in the last year alone.Photo: Caterpillar
As Caterpillar readies to launch its latest smartphone, the S60, here in the United States, the heavy equipment manufacturer is giving a few more details on all the functionality this phone’s built-in FLIR thermal imaging camera brings.
Unveiled in February, the S60 is the first smartphone to offer built-in thermal imaging. The embedded FLIR system highlights temperature contrasts and displays a colorful visualization on the phone’s screen highlighting these contrasts.
And while we’ve known those details since the phone’s unveiling, in terms of a specific feature set this new FLIR camera brings to the S60, we didn’t know much. But now Cat has released the full list:
- Capture still thermal images, video, panoramas and time lapses.
- Images and videos are enhanced with FLIR’s multi-spectral dynamic imaging technology (MSX) that embosses digital camera image data onto the thermal image to provide context and clarity.
- Swipe between thermal and the corresponding visual spectrum saved images, making it easier to understand the thermal image.
- Apply up to three movable spot meters and a fixed region of interest to read temperature data directly off the live image feed, or from saved images.
- Switch between nine thermal color palettes that visualize surface temperature contrasts differently, including modes to highlight just the highest and lowest temperature areas in the frame.
- Select from four pre-set emissivity values and set custom temperature scales for thermal images.
- Export radiometric JPEG images to apps including FLIR Tools, available for free, which offers additional image editing and analysis tools, temperature visualizations and PDF reporting.
- Can spot heat sources up to 100 feet away, as well as seeing through obscurants such as smoke.
The S60 is the first smartphone to offer built-in thermal imaging.Photo: Caterpillar
Caterpillar says it sees the phone saving workers serious time on the jobsite, allowing for on-the-spot report generation.
Since announcing the phone, Cat says it has received great interest from developers looking to design applications that make use of the S60’s FLIR system. By the end of this month, the company plans to release a software development kit, or SDK, for developers to use in creating such apps.
“With FLIR, we want to support developers looking to build high-quality apps that will help to make the most of the S60’s integrated thermal camera and make it a powerful tool for even more users,” said Tim Shepherd, head of applications for Cat Phones, in a prepared statement.
Caterpillar says the S60 will be available for pre-order in the United States in July. The price will be $599.
