What InSight does

InSight is a camera-based analysis system designed specifically for routine asphalt mixture testing. It fits into existing test frames and can be used with tests such as IDT, IDEAL-CT, I-FIT, High-Temperature IDT, and IDEAL-RT, allowing laboratories to add visual measurement capability without moving to a completely different testing platform.

Like Digital Image Correlation (DIC), InSight records the behaviour of the specimen during loading. But it is designed for a very different purpose. Two sides of the specimen are filmed, no speckle pattern is required, the workflow is simpler, and the software is tailored specifically to routine Balanced Mix Design testing. The result is a practical, low-cost system that brings visual analysis into everyday laboratory use.

In routine BMD testing, the specimen geometry, loading configuration, and boundary conditions are highly consistent from test to test. That consistency matters. It means the software does not need to behave like a general-purpose vision tool; it can be designed around the specific ways these specimens deform and fail. Instead of treating every test as an open-ended research problem, InSight focuses on repeatable features that are directly relevant to asphalt performance.

This makes it possible to measure more than load and actuator displacement alone. InSight can examine how the specimen moves, where deformation concentrates, how the crack localises, how the two specimen faces compare, and how failure develops after peak load. In other words, it adds a visual layer to tests that have traditionally relied almost entirely on load-based outputs.

The aim is not to make testing more complicated. The aim is to extract more useful information from tests laboratories already know and already run. By combining low-cost imaging with analysis designed specifically for standard asphalt test configurations, InSight helps bridge the gap between simple index tests and the richer mechanical insight normally associated with more expensive research tools.