Neuron Automation has introduced the “Neuron Smart Engineer.” The new engineering environment is designed for the development of safety-critical automation solutions and, according to the company, meets the requirements up to SIL 3 in accordance with IEC 61508 and ASIL C in accordance with ISO 26262. The tool is certified as T3-qualified and supports the development of safety and non-safety applications in a single environment.

Software Development in the Safety Sector

The software is based on the Neuron Power Engineer backend, which features a certified compiler process and a qualified library structure. This is complemented by a web-based front end with an open extension architecture based on Visual Studio Code.

Developers can integrate various programming languages and tools, including Python and their own extensions. In addition, the development environment supports Git-based version control and text-based project files that can be integrated into common version control systems.

A command-line interface is available for automated development processes. Supported languages include the IEC 61131-3 languages Structured Text (ST), Function Block Diagram (FBD), and Ladder, as well as C/C++ for integrating existing software. An integrated unit-test framework with a PLC simulator enables testing without target hardware.

AI Supports Development and Testing

With the integrated AI extension Transforma, Neuron expands its functionality to include generative AI. The system generates structured text code from structured safety requirements, can convert this code into FBD representations, generate test cases, and support error analysis.

According to the company, Transforma supports both online and offline language models (LLMs) and can therefore also be used in production environments without a cloud connection.

Neuron Smart Engineer can be run on desktop systems, servers, or in cloud environments. In addition, the software offers white-label options for OEMs, as well as features such as role-based access control and customizable user interfaces.