How fast technology really evolves nowadays. It looks like it was just very recent that thermal imaging accessories for smartphones were released, allowing anyone to use their smartphones to act as thermal cameras whereas before this tool was mainly available to the military and first responders.

But now, with the recent announcement by Caterpillar and FLIR, there is no need to buy a thermal camera separately to use with a smartphone. With the CAT S60, the thermal camera is already integrated with the smartphone.

To be unveiled today at the Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona, the S60 is a smartphone built by the Bullitt Group, the company that makes the phones for Caterpillar. At the back of the CAT S60 are two camera lenses. The first one is with the Lepton Thermal Imaging Sensor developed by FLIR while the second camera lens 13 megapixel camera that you can use as the main camera for everyday use and has dual flash.  The front camera is a 5 megapixel camera since what is the use of smartphone nowadays when it does not have a front-facing camera to take selfies with?

The thermal camera can detect heat and measure surface temperature at distances of 50 to 100 feet. For first responders, outdoors people, utility people, and even airsoft players can find practical uses for the CAT S60 with thermal camera.

Since it carries the Caterpillar brand known for machineries used in tough areas such as construction and mining, it is expected that the S60 is a tough and rugged smartphone. The screen is a Gorilla Glass 4 display that can withstand drops from up to five and half feet and meets MIL-STD-810 milspec standard. You can also use the 4.7" touch screen display even while wearing gloves.

As for its smartphone specifications, it uses the Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor, 4G LTE/Wifi/Bluetooth/NFC connectivity, 32GB on-board storage, and 3GB RAM. For location services it uses the GPS, the Russian GLOSNASS, and the Chinese Beidou networks.

For airsoft players wanting to use this as their thermal imager for airsoft games, while it is a tough smartphone, it would still need a rifle mount and protective screen to protect from incoming BBs. For third party airsoft gun accessories makers, they can check on the S60 dimensions to develop a rifle mount and protective case for it.

According to Caterpillar’s press release, the CAT S60 will be released later this year with a retail price of €649/£419/US$599.