I have not attended the NI annual event in several years so was happy to return and see how the company had evolved after the Emerson acquisition about 18 months ago. I was glad to find the company has been re-invigorated under the new leadership and now operating as the Test and Measurement Business of Emerson. Ritu Favre has re-enforced the message throughout the company and been tough and ever present to focus the organization on their roots to deliver flexible and modular hardware and software. In the press release she said, "For over five decades, we have delivered advanced innovations in test that simplified and redefined what is possible, becoming the gold standard by reducing complexity and delivering long term value."

At the annual NI Connect conference, the company announced significant hardware and software enhancements to its portfolio that address the growing complexity in tests. During the opening keynote, the test and measurement business announced the release of NI Nigel^TM AI Advisor for NI LabVIEW and NI TestStand in July 2025. This NI agent is trained across the NI software suite and built on Emerson’s secure cloud network. The NI Nigel^TM AI Advisor can analyze code, offer suggestions for changes, and allow users to ask questions in plain language to surface the correct tools across more than 700 functions. It is built on top of a standard AI LLM engine but optimized for Test and Measurement. The demos of this agent were impressive in how it can analyze code and even add a function to an existing VI.

NI Connect 2025

Emerson unveiled numerous software enhancements including a broad base version of NI SystemLink^TM, third-party signal source support for NI InstrumentStudio^TM via custom plugins, and many new NI LabVIEW features. These features include improved debugging workflow for wires and probes, support for .NET 8.0 and Python 3.12, better VI comparison, connectivity to Docker containers and more. More than a dozen suggestions from users via the online Ideas Exchange portal were implemented in product updates. They also announced the launch of an open-source GitHub* repository for NI FlexLogger plugins, expansion of its free LabVIEW Community Edition to macOS for university students, and dedicated support for over 80 user groups worldwide.

The conference featured demonstrations of new products, technical expert panel sessions and a renewed focus on technology innovation that included academic research presentations. The first keynote included MMi (robotic surgery), Sub-Zero and other industry leaders discussing how intelligent test strategies are shaping the future of innovation—and how NI’s evolving platform, including advancements in LabVIEW, DAQ, and PXI, are leading the way. The second keynote included Milwaukee Tool, Archer Aviation (VTOL), Qualcomm, Zyah Solutions, TREL, and other industry leaders share how test organizations are becoming strategic drivers of innovation—powered by scalable platforms, streamlined workflows, and collaborative ecosystems.

The exhibition had many demos from both NI and their partners. Here are some key RF demonstrations: