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Digital Image Correlation

ZEISS ARAMIS Optical Strain

Measure strain and movement across an entire surface—without contact.

ZEISS ARAMIS Optical Strain uses camera-based Digital Image Correlation (DIC) to measure full-field 3D strain, displacement, and deformation without contact, from material coupons to full-scale structures.

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See What the Whole Test Surface Is Doing

Traditional strain gauges, extensometers, and displacement sensors measure locations chosen before a test. When critical areas are uncertain, unexpected strain concentrations, crack paths, and deformation modes can remain unseen. We compare the approaches directly against strain gauges, extensometers, displacement sensors, and vibration sensors.

ZEISS ARAMIS Optical Strain measures how a visible surface changes under load, without contact. Instead of returning only a few readings, it produces full-field color maps and numerical data showing where a part stretches, bends, buckles, cracks, or fails and how that behavior develops throughout the test.

How ARAMIS Optical Strain Uses Digital Image Correlation

A random, high-contrast speckle pattern is applied to the test surface, and a calibrated camera pair records its three-dimensional shape and movement. ZEISS CORRELATE software uses Digital Image Correlation to track thousands of small areas as the object deforms.

From the same images, ARAMIS Optical Strain calculates full-field strain, 3D displacement, deformation, velocity, acceleration, rotation, and six-degree-of-freedom motion. Engineers can also track reference markers or add virtual strain gauges, extensometers, and displacement sensors after testing. Because measurement is non-contact, the system does not physically load or stiffen the test object.

More Information From Every Test

ARAMIS Optical Strain helps testing and development teams:

  • Measure the entire visible area instead of only predetermined locations.
  • Find unexpected strain concentrations, local deformation, crack initiation, and failure zones.
  • Capture local and global behavior, including large deformation through failure.
  • Add or reposition virtual measurement tools without repeating the test.
  • Synchronize results with force, temperature, voltage, and other test-machine signals through the ARAMIS Controller.
  • Compare measurements with finite element models and communicate results through color maps, plots, animations, and reports.

Choosing a Configuration

The family scales from a single benchtop sensor to multi-meter structural coverage. ARAMIS 1 suits coupon and small component work on a load frame. ARAMIS Adjustable 12M and ARAMIS Adjustable 24M vary the camera base so one system covers several measuring volumes. ARAMIS 3D 12M fixes the base for repeatable production and laboratory setups, and ARAMIS 3D SRX adds the frame rates needed for high-speed events.

Verified Accuracy for Audit-Ready Testing

ARAMIS Optical Strain supports ASTM E83-25-aligned verification through the Trilion t.Cert workflow, part of the Trilion Automation Suite. The system is verified against a NIST-traceable t.Check gauge block, and the workflow generates automated pass/fail reports and traceability documentation for quality-controlled and audit-ready testing programs.

Where It Is Used

Deployed across aerospace and defense, automotive, biomechanics, civil engineering, electronics, additive manufacturing, and material testing programs. The wider DIC community publishes good-practice guidance through the International DIC Society, and you can find practitioners near you in the Trilion DIC Network.

Specifications

Key Technical Data

  • Measurement methods: 2D and 3D Digital Image Correlation and point tracking
  • Measured results: Surface strain, 3D coordinates, displacement, deformation, velocity, acceleration, rotation, angles, and 6DoF motion
  • Standard measurement areas: Approximately 15 × 15 mm to 5,000 × 5,000 mm, depending on configuration
  • Camera resolution: Configurations available up to 24 megapixels
  • Recording speed: 25 to 335 fps at listed full resolution; specialized high-speed configurations can exceed one million fps at reduced resolution
  • Software: ZEISS CORRELATE
  • Test integration: External signal recording, camera triggering, data streaming, and multisensor support
  • Quality verification: ASTM E83-25-aligned verification through Trilion’s t.Cert workflow using a NIST-traceable t.Check gauge block; standardized acceptance based on VDI 2634-1 and VDI 2626.
  • Analysis options: Virtual strain gauges, virtual extensometers, FEA comparison, live results, and automated reporting

Industries & Applications

  • Material characterization: Measure metals, composites, plastics, elastomers, and other materials during tensile, compression, shear, bending, fracture, thermal, and high-strain-rate tests.
  • Component and structural testing: Evaluate stiffness, buckling, fatigue, crack propagation, thermal expansion, vibration, and deformation from individual components to full-scale structures.
  • Simulation validation: Compare measured strain and displacement fields with finite element models to improve material properties, boundary conditions, and simulation accuracy.
  • Dynamic and motion analysis: Capture vibration, impact, crash, drop, and other rapidly changing events using full-field measurement and point tracking.
Material Testing Aerospace & Defense Electronics & Consumer Goods DIC Education Services Automotive Oil Gas & Energy Biomechanics Civil Engineering Additive Manufacturing Machinery & Heavy Equipment Automation High-Speed Imaging Photogrammetry

Related Systems

Select a configuration based on test-object size, spatial resolution, event speed, temperature, and testing environment.

  • ZEISS ARAMIS 1: For quasi-static material and small-component testing.
  • ARAMIS Adjustable: A modular 3D system adaptable to changing requirements.
  • ARAMIS 3D Camera: A stable stereo-camera sensor for repeatable testing.
  • ARAMIS High Speed: For impact, crash, vibration, and high-strain-rate events.
  • ARAMIS Multi-sensor: Synchronized measurement of multiple sides or large areas.
  • ARAMIS Thermography: Aligns 3D measurements with infrared temperature data to separate thermal expansion from mechanical strain.

Trilion engineers can help select the cameras, lenses, lighting, measurement area, frame rate, software, and accessories for your application.

Closeup of the ZEISS ARAMIS 1 single-camera DIC sensor with branded label visible.

Digital Image Correlation

ARAMIS 1

Entry-Level 3D Optical Testing

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ZEISS ARAMIS Adjustable 24M digital image correlation sensor with dual cameras and blue LED light, front-left view.

Digital Image Correlation

ARAMIS Adjustable 12M

Flagship 3D DIC System

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aramis-adjustable-24m-dic-sensor-front-left

Digital Image Correlation

ARAMIS Adjustable 24M

24 megapixel 3D DIC, on any test machine

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aramis-3d-srx-300mm-front-right

Digital Image Correlation

ARAMIS 3D 12M

Flagship 3D DIC & Motion Analysis

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aramis-3d-srx-600mm-stereo-front

Digital Image Correlation

ARAMIS 3D SRX

High-speed 3D DIC for impact and dynamic events

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ZEISS ARAMIS Controller rack unit front panel with dual fans, trigger ports, and status LED.

Accessories

ARAMIS Controller

Sync, trigger, and power for ARAMIS systems

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Questions

ZEISS ARAMIS Optical Strain FAQ

Does ARAMIS Optical Strain replace strain gauges and extensometers?

It can replace or reduce conventional sensors in many laboratory tests while providing full-field information. Conventional sensors may remain useful when the area cannot be seen or for long-term field monitoring. We compare the methods point by point for strain gauges, extensometers, displacement sensors, and vibration sensors, and the underlying method is explained on our Digital Image Correlation page.

Does the test object require surface preparation?

Full-field DIC normally requires a random, high-contrast speckle pattern. Point tracking uses lightweight reference markers. Preparation depends on the material, temperature, measurement area, and expected deformation. Patterning methods and good-practice guidance are covered in our technical library and in the Good Practices Guide published by the International DIC Society.

Can ARAMIS Optical Strain work with an existing test machine?

Yes. ARAMIS Optical Strain synchronizes with testing machines and external signals such as force, temperature, and voltage, and integrates with many load frames, test benches, and custom testing environments. Analog and digital synchronization is handled by the ARAMIS Controller. Talk to us about your frame and we will confirm the interface before you buy.

Can we try the software before committing to a system?

Yes. ZEISS CORRELATE offers free and professional trial licenses, and the activation steps are documented in how to try the ZEISS Correlate software. You can also send us data from an existing test and we will process it with you, or book a demonstration on your own parts through our applications engineers.

How do we know the measurements are accurate enough to defend?

Verification is built into the workflow rather than assumed. The t.Cert process in the Trilion Automation Suite verifies the system against a NIST-traceable t.Check gauge block and generates automated pass and fail reports aligned to ASTM E83-25, giving you traceability documentation for audits and quality-controlled programs.

Is this only useful for small coupons in a laboratory?

No. The same measurement principle scales from a coupon on a load frame to a multi-meter structure. ARAMIS 1 covers small specimens, the Adjustable systems change measuring volume as the job changes, and multiple sensors can be combined for full-scale structural tests in aerospace and civil engineering programs.

Our team has never run DIC. How steep is the learning curve?

Most teams are productive after a short on-site course. Trilion runs training and the Trilion Academy, and our engineers stay involved through setup, validation, and interpretation rather than handing over a box. See on-site training and the Trilion Academy, and find peers already working in DIC through the Trilion DIC Network.

What if the area we need to measure is very fast, very hot, or very small?

Configuration follows the physics of the test. High frame rate events use high-speed imaging with ARAMIS 3D SRX, thermal fields are captured with infrared cameras synchronized to the mechanical data, and small fields of view are handled with the appropriate lens and sensor pairing. Send us the test requirement and we will spec it.

Can we rent a system instead of buying one?

Yes. System rental covers short programs, capacity peaks, and evaluation before a purchase decision. Rentals ship configured for your test and come with the same engineering support as an owned system, so a rental is a real trial rather than a box on loan.

Can Trilion run the test for us, or train our team to run it?

Both. Our engineers will run the measurement on your site through on-site measurement, or run it in our lab through offsite lab services if you would rather send the parts. When you want the capability in house, on-site training and the Trilion Academy get your team running the system themselves.

Ready to see ZEISS ARAMIS Optical Strain in action?

Talk to an engineer about how this system fits your testing program.

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