MathWorks stellt MATLAB und Simulink Release 2026b vor

Key Takeaways

• R2026b adds Simulink Variant Manager, Visual Inspection Toolbox, and Polyspace Test Server for tighter configuration control and automated verification.
• New MATLAB capabilities include TOML-based project files, File Exchange package management, and Google Sheets integration.
• Simulink now supports JSON data dictionaries, AI-assisted profiling via Simulink Copilot, and reusable published models.
• Aerospace, audio, and sensor toolboxes receive major updates: high-fidelity orbit propagation, ray-based sound propagation, and expanded lidar/radar workflows.
• The release is optimized for CI/CD pipelines, offering server-side code-coverage and structural testing for C/C++ embedded code.

Overview of MATLAB & Simulink R2026b

MathWorks unveiled Release 2026b (R2026b) of MATLAB and Simulink in September 2026. The update targets the growing complexity of engineered systems that blend software, electronics, and artificial intelligence. By extending variant management, visual inspection, and automated testing, R2026b helps teams keep design data consistent, traceable, and production-ready across large, multi-disciplinary projects.

Simulink Variant Manager

• Purpose: Centralizes variant handling for product families and platform-based designs.
• Key functions:
  • Consistency checks that flag conflicting variant selections.
  • Traceability links that map each variant back to requirements in DOORS or Jama.
  • Collaborative editing with real-time conflict resolution.

Result: Teams can now manage up to 10× more variants without manual bookkeeping, according to MathWorks internal benchmarks.

Visual Inspection Toolbox

• AI + Image Processing: Provides pretrained CNNs and custom pipelines for defect detection, surface-finish analysis, and assembly verification.
• Point Cloud Extensions: Adds lidar, radar, and SLAM workflows, supporting data rates up to 200 Mpts/s for real-time robotics applications.

Polyspace Test Server

• Automation: Runs unit and integration tests on CI servers (Jenkins, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps).
• Coverage: Generates structural coverage reports (MC/DC, decision, condition) for C/C++ codebases up to 2 GB.

Core MATLAB Enhancements

Simulink Platform Updates

• Published Models: Reusable libraries can be referenced without recompilation, cutting build times by ≈25 % for large-scale simulations.
• JSON Data Dictionaries: Streamlines source-control diffing and merging of parameter sets.
• Simulink Copilot: AI-driven profiling suggests bottleneck-removing optimizations, reducing simulation runtimes by up to 40 % in benchmark tests.

Domain-Specific Toolbox Advances

Supporting CI/CD and Compliance

Polyspace Test Server extends MathWorks’ compliance portfolio by delivering ISO 26262 and DO-178C-compatible coverage metrics directly from CI pipelines. The server can parallelize test execution across up to 64 cores, shortening verification cycles from days to hours.

Bottom Line

MATLAB & Simulink R2026b equips engineering teams with a robust suite of variant-management, AI-driven inspection, and server-side testing tools that directly address the scalability challenges of modern, software-intensive systems. By embracing human-readable project formats, integrated package management, and AI-assisted profiling, MathWorks not only accelerates development cycles but also strengthens traceability and compliance—critical factors for aerospace, automotive, and industrial automation projects. For organizations seeking a future-proof platform that bridges design, verification, and deployment, R2026b represents a decisive upgrade over prior releases.