MathWorks adds new variant, inspection & test tools
Fri, 9th Oct 2026 (Today)
MathWorks has released MATLAB and Simulink Release 2026b, adding new tools for variant management, visual inspection and software testing.
The release introduces Simulink Variant Manager, Visual Inspection Toolbox and Polyspace Test Server, alongside broader updates across the company's engineering software portfolio. The additions target teams developing systems that combine software, electronics and artificial intelligence.
Simulink Variant Manager is intended to help organisations manage larger numbers of product variants across complex models and system architectures. According to MathWorks, the tool is designed to improve consistency, traceability and collaboration for teams developing product families and platform-based designs.
Visual Inspection Toolbox combines artificial intelligence and image-processing methods for visual inspection in manufacturing and industrial settings. MathWorks also added Point Cloud Toolbox, extending workflows for lidar, camera, radar and SLAM-based applications in robotics, automation and transport.
Polyspace Test Server is aimed at embedded software development. It automates testing and code coverage analysis for C and C++ software in continuous integration environments, enabling teams to run unit and integration tests and carry out structural coverage analysis on automation servers.
A significant part of the release focuses on verification and compliance, where engineering teams often face growing documentation and testing demands as products become more software-defined. MathWorks said the new testing features are intended to reduce manual verification work.
Beyond the new products, MathWorks has introduced broader changes across MATLAB and Simulink. In MATLAB, the release adds TOML-based project files, package management through File Exchange, Google Sheets integration and performance improvements for data-centric workflows.
Simulink now includes published models that can be reused without rebuilding, JSON-based data dictionaries for source-control workflows and profiling insights generated with Simulink Copilot. These changes are aimed at collaboration and model management for development teams working on larger projects.
Sector updates
Several specialist toolboxes and blocksets have also been expanded. Aerospace Toolbox now includes features for orbit propagation, manoeuvre modelling, constellation design and support for lunar missions and other celestial bodies.
Aerospace Blockset has been updated for modelling and simulation of aircraft, rotorcraft and spacecraft, including guidance, navigation and control, mission planning and system-level performance analysis. Audio Toolbox now supports work on complete acoustic systems through Simscape integration, ray-based sound propagation for room and underwater acoustics, and audio quality and intelligibility metrics.
On the artificial intelligence side, Deep Learning Toolbox adds a Time Series Modeler app and support for co-execution of PyTorch models in MATLAB and Simulink. Statistics and Machine Learning Toolbox now includes interactive applications for design of experiments and Gage R&R studies.
MathWorks has also updated Simulink Design Verifier with distributed analysis across multiple CPU cores and improved precision for models using floating-point and complex mathematical operations. SoC Blockset for AMD has been extended to support hardware-software co-design for AMD adaptive SoCs and FPGAs.
The release reflects how engineering software suppliers are responding to systems development that increasingly spans embedded code, simulation, sensors and artificial intelligence models. Tool vendors are also under pressure to support more automated testing and development practices as customers bring software engineering methods into industrial and embedded environments.
MathWorks, founded in 1984, develops mathematical computing software used across industries including automotive, aerospace, communications, electronics and industrial automation. It says it employs more than 6,500 people in 34 offices worldwide.
"Engineering organizations are being challenged to deliver increasingly sophisticated products that blend software, AI, electronics, and connected systems while maintaining quality, compliance, and development speed," said Avinash Nehemiah, Head of Product Management and Marketing - Design Automation, MathWorks. "R2026b helps teams connect design, simulation, testing, and deployment workflows so they can spend less time managing complexity and move from concept to production more quickly."