Inline vs mobile aggregate imaging: which fits your plant?
Mobile image analysis and inline plant hardware solve different problems. How to choose the right digitalΔggregate path for your operation, and why most plants end up using both.
alterBiota · July 18, 2026
digitalΔggregate comes in two forms: a mobile app anyone can use, and an inline vision system that measures aggregate as it's batched. They aren't competing products; they solve different problems. Here's how to tell which one your operation needs first.
The two paths at a glance
Low barrier to start
Mobile app
- Phone or tablet capture with a scale reference chip
- Results in under five minutes
- Grab samples, stockpile checks, incoming deliveries
- Empowers every staff member, no lab specialist needed
- Low CapEx, deploy today
Always-on
Inline vision system
- Ruggedized camera in-line with the batcher
- Automatic sampling of every batch
- Processed on an edge server in real time
- Early-warning QC and on-the-fly optimization
- Continuous audit trail per batch
Where mobile makes sense
Turn to the mobile app when you want to increase testing frequency without capital spend or plant downtime. It turns aggregate checks into a five-minute task that anyone can run, whether engineer, technician, or operator, driving an order-of-magnitude increase in how often material actually gets "sampled." It's ideal for grab samples, stockpile spot checks, and documenting incoming loads.
Where inline adds value
Turn to the inline vision system when you need data on every batch, automatically. A ruggedized camera images coarse aggregate at the point of batching, and an edge server analyzes it in real time, so drift is caught as it happens and the mix can be optimized on the fly. It's the path when volumes are high, QC is spec-critical, and you want a continuous, batch-specific record rather than periodic samples.
Decision factors
Weigh these when choosing where to start:
- Volume: high, continuous throughput favors inline; variable or lower volume favors mobile.
- Staffing: thin on lab time? Mobile spreads testing across the whole team; inline removes the manual step entirely.
- Spec requirements: batch-level traceability and real-time control point to inline.
- Budget: mobile is low-CapEx and immediate; inline is an investment in always-on QC.
The takeaway
It isn't really "either/or." Mobile gets you testing more, today. Inline makes it automatic and batch-specific. Most plants start mobile and add inline where the volume and spec demands justify it.
How they complement each other
The two feed the same QC platform, so data from a phone in the lab and a camera on the batcher live in one place. You can prove the value with mobile, build the habit of frequent measurement, then extend to inline on the lines that need continuous coverage, without switching tools or retraining the team.
- See the capture workflow in image-based aggregate gradation.
- Learn how this cuts waste in reducing rejected loads.
Not sure which path fits?
Tell us your volumes and staffing and we'll help you scope a mobile-first or inline deployment.