When the speed of a certain loading event is too fast for the human eye to capture, high-speed imaging can be an extremely valuable analysing tool. It allows for digitally recording short-time events occurring in a few milliseconds or fast-moving objects that cannot be viewed or analysed in real-time. These images can be rendered to a digital video, giving greater insight into the actual behaviour, and this by slowing down the video frame rate to a speed that allows for visual analysis.

High-speed imaging is frequently used in material characterization to analyse the physical and/or mechanical properties of various materials and components. For example, when dropping a mass or object from a certain height onto a product, high-speed images are used to perform impact energy studies and analyse first failure points together with overall structural integrity.

Besides material characterization and model calibration, high-speed imaging can also play a role in analysing manufacturing and production processes, machinery kinetics, and dynamics.