CAT Phones – Thermal Imaging Smartphone

Infectious and communicable medical conditions, including COVID-19, are easily spread where people congregate. But it can be tough to identify people exhibiting potential symptoms that cannot be seen, such as an elevated temperature.

The Cat S60, and its successor, the Cat S61 are the first smartphones with integrated thermal imaging cameras. Designed, engineered, and manufactured by the UK-based, market leading rugged device vendor, Bullitt Group, these products form part of the company’s successful Cat phones range of brand-licensed producs.

All physical things, including people, radiate infrared energy. This can be detected by a thermal camera, with different surface temperatures visualised and represented as different colours on a display. The technology requires no natural light and does not require physical contact with the target to detect heat.

This makes thermal imaging an ideal technology for initial triage screening of groups or lines of people as they pass by a thermal camera, as elevated skin temperatures that could prove to be a symptom of illness, will show up clearly as a contrasting colour on the display compared to normal skin temperature. This allows for individuals exhibiting elevated temperatures to be quickly identified with relative ease and without interaction, after which, additional information can be gathered or tests performed to ensure that the individual does not pose a risk to the health of others.

Benefits of a Smartphone Solution

The thermal camera integrated into the Cat S61 and Cat S60 offers a number of key advantages:

• Cat phones are military spec ‘rugged’ devices. This means they are tough and robust, making them suitable for use in any environment, indoors or outdoors. They are rigorously drop tested onto steel, tested in temperature extremes, resistant to scratches and damage, and built to survive.
• They can be properly cleaned and disinfected periodically, or after use. The Cat S61 and Cat S60 are IP68 certified, meaning they are fully dust and dirt proof, and can be fully submerged in liquid. They can be cleaned with hot or cold water and soaps or detergents, or disinfected using alcohol gels.
• They are connected devices. As smartphones, thermal imagery or other data collected can, where necessary, be shared, streamed or mirrored via USB connection, or via WiFi or cellular data connections.

Using the CAT S61 or CAT S60 for Temperature screening

The Cat S61 or Cat S60 are best used as one aspect of a wider temperature screening program, in which anomalies identified using the thermal camera can then be verified or explored further with the individual through additional questions, or by offering further checks or tests.

A Cat S61 or Cat S60 can be mounted on a tripod or stand and directed at a space through which people would be directed or required to pass through, ideally within 1.5 metres of the camera. The thermal camera can be configured with a fixed temperature range to ensure that anomalies standout clearly from those within the expected range. This means that anyone passing the camera with an unusually high temperature will show up clearly as a contrasting high temperature colour.

For the additional safety of the operator, the thermal camera feed can be mirrored or streamed to a remote display. This can be done via USB cable connection to a laptop or tablet, or via a WiFi or cellular data connection.

While this is not a technology best suited to taking precise measurements of individual’s skin temperature due to environmental condition variables that can affect the accuracy of measurements, for screening groups of people to identify those with anomalously high temperatures, thermal imaging on mobile devices represents an effectual, affordable, scalable, and easily deployable solution.

For more information:

Click HERE to download the CAT S61 datasheet

To download a copy of the Thermal imaging smartphone guide, Click HERE

To visit the CAT phone website, Click HERE

To download and view this short video on how the CAT S61 thermal imaging works, Click HERE