Cat S60 Phone, With Thermal Imaging Camera, Built for Harsh Workplaces

The thermal camera, which Caterpillar is the first to integrate into a smartphone, lets users detect heat inside structures and more.

The Cat S60 features a 7-inch HD capacitive touch-screen display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor, 3GB of memory and 32GB of onboard storage. The handset runs on the Android Marshmallow 6.0 operating system and will be available later this year for $599.

Also included in the handset are two cameras that can be used underwater at up to 16 feet for as long as an hour—a 13-megapixel main camera with dual flash and a 5MP front-facing camera—for capturing images for work or play.

The integrated FLIR thermal camera lets users capture still images, panorama shots and videos as they inspect structures and other enclosures for heat sources. The thermal imaging provides a temperature spot meter as well as a wide range of temperature data in a live thermal image. The camera allows users to see their targets through smoke.

The thermal imaging capabilities of the Cat S60 smartphone give builders, electricians, emergency services, utility workers and other field workers the tools needed to detect electrical circuit overheating inside walls, appliance overheating, heat loss around windows and doors, fire and other heat sources while doing their tasks.

With a strengthened diecast frame, the Cat S60 smartphone is built to Military Spec 810G requirements, making it able to withstand drops of up to 5.9 feet on concrete without damage. The cover on the display of the phone is made from scratch-resistant and tough Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and can be operated with wet fingers or gloves.

The Cat S60 includes a powerful 3,800mAh rechargeable battery, as well as quick-charging capabilities. The handset, which is 5.8 inches long, 2.89 inches wide and 0.49 inches thick, includes 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.1 and 802.11 WiFi connectivity as well as near-field communications (NFC) capabilities.

Built into the Cat S60 are location sensors, an e-compass, a barometer, an altimeter and more to provide location services for users wherever they are working. In addition, the handset includes a waterproof micro-USB 2.0 port, a nano SIM slot, a 3.5mm audio jack and a microSD card slot for flash storage cards of up to 128GB. Also included is a front-facing, waterproof loudspeaker and a microphone port.