Siemens has expanded its digital innovation platform with the latest version of the NX software, which has been enhanced with machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI): The new functions are able to predict upcoming steps and adapt the user interface accordingly. This allows users to use the software more efficiently and work more productively.

The ability to automatically adapt the user interface to the needs of different types of users in different departments also leads to greater acceptance. This ultimately results in a higher quality, computer-aided engineering system (CAx system) and the creation of an even more stable digital twin.

ML is increasingly being used in the product development process and can be used to deliver valuable business information faster and more efficiently. Thanks to ML, large amounts of data can be processed and analyzed from which knowledge can be gained. AI and ML can also be used to evaluate a user's activities and work results to dynamically determine how NX commands should be delivered or to modify the user interface and use the learned knowledge to personalize the CAx environment.

"With CAD applications, there has always been a trade-off between functionality and ease of use. The more comprehensive the applications become, the more difficult they are to use and master," explains Chad Jackson, Chief Analyst at Lifecycle Insights. "The customizable user interface in NX gets around this problem. It guides non-experts and experienced users to the right function at the right time. Many users will benefit from this."

Siemens' digital innovation platform is continuously expanding to enable customers to create a comprehensive digital twin of the product, the production environment and the performance of the product. The integration of ML and AI into the NX software offers advantages in terms of speed, performance, efficiency and intelligence through learning, without having to explicitly program these features. This offers customers many opportunities, including improving the design process to optimize their product offering and reduce time to market. The NX Command Prediction module is the first market introduction of NX's adaptive user interface architecture (UI for short), which is capable of learning and forms the basis for additional ML-oriented UI solutions.

"Extensive research in the field of human-computer interaction has resulted in an excellent static interface. However, a perfectly tailored dynamic interface that is suitable for all users is still missing," said Bob Haubrock, Senior Vice President, Product Engineering Software at Siemens PLM Software. "The latest version of NX uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to evaluate user actions and work results. This allows us to dynamically determine how to operate the right NX commands or modify the user interface to make individual users more productive. Using this knowledge of the learned user interface to personalize CAx environments helps our customers improve overall usage and adoption rates and ultimately leads to more efficient product development processes." as