Thermal imaging phone reveals Londoners' battle to keep cool in summer

Innovative: the FLIR camera visualises heat that is invisible to the naked eye by highlighting temperature contrasts

Thermal images from a new smartphone have revealed London’s battle to keep cool in the summer heat.

The Cat S60 is the world’s first mobile to feature integrated thermal imaging technology, which can see in the dark and can be used by builders to check for bad insulation or a faulty fuse.

Its FLIR camera visualises heat that is invisible to the naked eye by highlighting temperature contrasts using blue for cold and yellow and red for hot.

The device was carried around London over the past fortnight, including during the recent mini-heatwave where it pictured commuters glowing red and yellow on the Central line in over 36C heat. A Life Guards soldier on Whitehall was shown sweltering under his uniform at 32.5C, about 90F, with the glow showing his face as his hottest body part.

Bullitt Group, which makes the phone, said it is useful for firefighters to “see” through smoke to find the origin of a blaze. It is also waterproof at up to five metres for one hour.

Thermal imaging

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A spokesman said: “The phone’s thermal camera gave a unique view of London and showed how hot summer in the city can be.

“Some of the glass buildings get very hot. The Shard is a good example — with the sun shining on it we recorded temperatures over 45C.”

The Cat S60, which was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February, costs £529.

It can pick up heat and measure surface temperatures from a distance of up to 100 feet, and is built to withstand drops onto concrete from 1.8 metres.

Peter Stephens, CEO Bullitt Group said: “The Cat S60 represents a milestone for smartphones. We are excited for thermal technology to be in the hands of Cat phones customers and to discover the myriad of daily time and efficiency use cases it will present for them.”

Andy Teich, President and CEO of FLIR, said: “We are delighted to work on the latest Cat phone with Bullitt Group, to integrate our thermal camera into their proven, industrialized smartphone to create a truly innovative and groundbreaking mobile product.”

“The CAT S60 presents mobile users around the world with new capabilities – a ‘sixth sense’ experience that only thermal imaging can offer.”

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