10 practical and incredible uses for thermal photography

Cat

A company called FLIR is behind what it says is the world's first thermal-imaging smartphone, called the Cat S60.

No, it's not a phone designed to photograph cats (although you could do that). It's "Cat" as in the brand of rugged construction machines that dig giant holes in the ground.

Putting a heat-vision camera into a $599 smartphone might sound like a gimmick, but we think it's pretty cool — thermal photography has a deep history of great applications.

Here are just a few of the incredible and practical ways the world has used thermographic imaging.

Thermographic cameras record infrared light, which we can often feel as warmth on our skin — but the human eye can't detect. The new Cat S60 camera might be able to take photos like this.

More practically, you might use it to save money and the environment. Contractors already spot and fix leaky insulation with the technology.

Source: FLIR

If you're an electrical engineer, thermal imaging can help reveal where circuitry is heating up, causing inefficiencies, and potentially show-stopping faults.

Source: Optotherm