Comprehensive product investments

At the annual NI Connect conference, Emerson unveiled key enhancements to its hardware and software portfolio specifically designed to address the increasing complexity of validation and test processes.

During the keynote, Test & Measurement Group President Ritu Favre announced that the company will launch its Nigel AI Advisor for LabVIEW and TestStand in July 2025. Nigel AI Advisor is a single AI trained across the entire NI software suite, built on Emerson's secure cloud network. Nigel AI Advisor is capable of analyzing program code and suggesting changes, allowing users to ask simple questions to find the right tools for more than 700 functions.

"NI has always been a pioneer in test solutions," said Favre. "But this year, it's clear that our software-centric approach with modular hardware, supported by Emerson's extensive resources, is setting new standards. We will continue to provide engineers with the latest, expertly developed tools—now and in the future—at unprecedented scale."

To provide engineers with a wider range of hardware choices, the company announced the expansion of its powerful data acquisition (DAQ) portfolio with three new solutions: NI FieldDAQ for extreme environments, USB-C NI CompactDAQ chassis for greater flexibility, and an all-new connector for C Series modules that makes signal connection even easier.

Emerson also announced an update to its PXIe-5842 Generation 3 Vector Signal Transceiver (VST3) with a new 4 GHz bandwidth option and the ability to combine the bandwidth of two VST3s for up to 7 GHz instantaneous bandwidth using its proprietary spectrum stitching technology. The company continues its investment in radio frequency testing and validation with feature enhancements to the 5660 Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) and ongoing updates to its RFmx measurement application software.

At the conference, Emerson highlighted numerous software enhancements, including an upcoming, more widely deployable base version of SystemLink, support for third-party signal sources for InstrumentStudio via custom plug-ins, and many new LabVIEW features. These include an improved workflow for debugging connections and probes, support for .NET 8.0 and Python 3.12, better VI comparison, connectivity to Docker containers, and more. The online "idea exchange" conducted by users also received significant attention, with more than a dozen suggested features prioritized by public voting making it into the product.

The commitment to the community continues with the launch of an open-source GitHub repository for FlexLogger plug-ins, the extension of the free LabVIEW Community Edition to macOS for students, and dedicated support for over 80 user groups worldwide.

The conference itself featured multiple product demonstrations, two days of technical talks and panels led by Emerson experts and customers, and a renewed focus on technology development—including a dedicated area in the convention center where visiting researchers presented and discussed their scientific work.