The World's First AI-Assisted Tensile Test – Our Vision for the Future of Materials Testing
The future of materials testing isn’t a distant dream—it’s taking shape here and now. It’s built on data, expertise, and bold innovation. Standards will remain the landmarks that guide us, but the path toward them is changing. New technologies, automation, and what was once just a buzzword—artificial intelligence—are redefining how we think about testing.
At ZwickRoell, we asked ourselves a simple but profound question: What would a tensile test look like if AI weren’t just “involved,” but a true companion? The result isn’t a marketing fantasy. It’s a concept that demonstrates what’s already possible today. Much remains in the experimental phase; some questions are still open, like entries in an unfinished research journal. But that's exactly why we're sharing it. Vision doesn’t emerge in isolation; it grows through collaboration with those who use and shape it.
A machine that listens, thinks, and supports
Imagine starting a tensile test not with clicks and parameters, but with a conversation. You interact with AI as you would with an experienced colleague: “What test are you planning? What’s the material? Which standards apply? What should you consider?"
AI provides expertise, recommendations, and guidance. It explains standard details, suggests optimal parameters, and helps you avoid common mistakes, as if it carried a mental checklist of best practices. When you’re ready, you simply say: "Please set up testXpert."
AI understands the context and automatically configures the testing software. While you prepare the physical setup, an optical AI system assists with specimen clamping to ensure compliance with standard requirements. Before the test begins, AI verifies the setup through its camera system. Missing an extensometer? Detecting misalignment? AI flags it immediately and requests correction. Only when everything meets the specifications does it give the green light. Safety and compliance are no longer promises, they’re technically ensured.
During and after the test, AI keeps working: Are the data plausible? Are there anomalies or unexplained deviations? Receive instant feedback that unites efficiency with precision. Efficiency meets quality.
Sounds like the future? Maybe. Or like the present but moving ahead at a fast pace.
Why we're talking about this
This concept marks an early step —not a finished product. It’s an invitation, a preview of the future we want to shape together.
- Would you want a machine that communicates with you?
- Would these features enhance your testing workflow?
- What kind of support would be most valuable to you?
Materials testing will continue to evolve and we are ready: bold, curious, and committed to driving this evolution with you.
AI solutions already integrated into series products
AI support isn't just a vision for the future. ZwickRoell has already implemented AI-based solutions in several standard products. For example, ecos AI supports the evaluation and recognition of hardness indentations in all hardness testers. These solutions make hardness testing significantly safer and more efficient, especially on challenging surfaces.
