AI tools create test code and test steps, helping engineers save time and automate testing in electronics, cars, aerospace, and chip industries.
Emerson has added new AI features to its NI software portfolio that can generate code in NI LabVIEW and create test sequences in NI TestStand. The features are powered by NI Nigel AI and are designed to reduce the time engineers spend developing and validating automated test systems.
In internal testing across representative engineering workflows, Emerson found that the AI features could reduce the time and effort required to develop and deploy test systems by up to 50%. The tools are aimed at industries such as automotive, electronics, aerospace and defense, and semiconductors, where test development and validation can involve significant engineering work.
In LabVIEW, engineers can use prompts to generate code for their test applications. TestStand can use AI to create test sequences, reducing some of the manual work involved in setting up test workflows. Engineers can review and control the AI-generated output rather than handing the development process entirely to the AI.
Nigel AI is also being added to more applications in the NI LabVIEW+ Suite, including NI InstrumentStudio, NI FlexLogger and NI VeriStand. This extends the AI features to interactive measurements, sensor data logging and hardware-in-the-loop testing. Engineers can use the tools across different stages of test development, validation and deployment.
The AI is integrated into the test environments engineers already use and can work with information from instruments, software, engineering code, configured workflows and structured data. This allows Nigel AI to generate results based on the requirements and context of a specific test system rather than working as a separate general-purpose AI tool.
Emerson says Nigel AI also includes security and governance measures and supports requirements such as the Cyber Resilience Act. The company has designed the system to maintain traceability and human oversight as AI is used for more parts of the test development process.
Nigel AI is designed specifically for engineering and test applications. Emerson is using its experience in test and measurement to apply AI to tasks such as code generation, test-sequence creation and validation. The broader goal is to automate parts of test development while reducing the engineering effort needed to build and deploy software-defined test systems.
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