NI Connect 2026: The New Era of Test
May 15, 2026
Blog
This year at the annual NI Connect event in Fort Worth, Texas, NI, now part of Emerson, celebrated its legacy with the company’s 50th anniversary and the 40th anniversary of LabVIEW, the graphical programming environment designed to help engineers accelerate test systems.
The opening keynotes and one-on-one discussions were centered around the “new era of test,” and the role of AI in test and measurement. Leading the charge in these discussions was the company’s flagship test technology, Nigel AI, and its intended evolution from Advisor to Author, to Agent.
Recent updates to Nigel include its expansion across the company’s test software portfolio: NI FlexLogger, NI InstrumentStudio, NI TestStand, and NI SystemLink. Updates to Nigel AI also include support for new prompt-based code generation in the NI LabVIEW+ Suite.
Keynotes and discussions were kicked off by the president of Emerson’s test and measurement business, Ritu Favre, and vice president of the global NI sales, marketing, and post-sales services organization, Luke Schreier. They homed in on the new capabilities the company aims to unlock with their open software and modular hardware, data analytics, and ecosystem and community.
Emerson highlights the utilization of AI not solely as a tool but as a teammate and trusted partner that can lower the barrier to entry for customers who don’t always have to be test engineers or experts.
Emerson is leveraging AI to determine how it can work for their customers. AI has quickly become a part of many industries and software practices over the past few months, with the intention of increasing productivity. With the help of Nigel AI and the company’s portfolio of test software solutions, the company acknowledges that Agentic engineering may be the future, but there will always be a need for human engineers.
According to Luke Schreier, “AI is moving quickly, but it must be built to last.”
For more information, visit: www.ni.com
YouTube short from NI Connect 2026: https://youtube.com/shorts/FserzTYdj20?si=aj5btRThBx2gdaqd
Tiera Oliver is the assistant managing editor at Embedded Computing Design. She is responsible for web content editing, product news, and story development. She also manages, edits, and develops content for ECD podcasts, including Embedded Insiders.
She utilizes her expertise in journalism and content management to oversee editorial content, coordinate with editors, and ensure high-quality output across web, print, and multimedia platforms. She manages diverse projects, assists in the production of digital magazines, and hosts company podcasts by conducting in-depth interviews with industry leaders to deliver engaging and insightful discussions.
Tiera attended Northern Arizona University, where she received her bachelor's in journalism and political science. She was also a news reporter for the student-led newspaper, The Lumberjack.
