Release of “Next Design V5.1” and “Next Design AI Toolkit”
Denso Create Co., Ltd. began offering the new version of its system and software design tool, “Next Design V5.1,” and the “Next Design AI Toolkit,” which enables the use of Next Design design information via an AI agent, on September 30, 2026.
Next Design + AI Toolkit Screenshots
Key Features of Next Design V5.1
Get started on your design smoothly, even with large design data sets
In Next Design V5.1, we have improved loading performance for large-scale projects.
Even when the number of design files and models increases, you can minimize the wait time between opening a file and starting the design process, allowing you to begin your daily design work more smoothly.
Key Features of the Next Design AI Toolkit
Utilizing Next Design's design information from AI agents
The Next Design AI Toolkit, provided alongside this, includes “Next Design MCP,” which allows AI agents to access design information from Next Design [1] , which allows AI agents to access design information from Next Design, as well as “dedicated Skills” that provide AI agents with the knowledge and procedures necessary to work with Next Design.
With MCP, by combining the AI agent users normally use with Next Design, users can not only refer to the answers obtained through interactions with the AI, but also enable the AI to process actual design information within Next Design and incorporate the results into design deliverables.
For example, AI can be utilized in day-to-day design work—such as creating preliminary model drafts based on requirements and design information registered in Next Design, investigating relationships between models, and checking for omissions or inconsistencies in design information.
Furthermore, by combining dedicated Skills, you can use AI to build profiles and models while discussing metamodels and views through dialogue with the AI. You can also use AI to migrate existing design assets—which have been managed in applications such as Word and Excel—to Next Design, as well as to design, generate code, and modify extensions using Next Design’s API.
For more information on Next Design V5.1 and the AI Toolkit, please click here.
Advantages of implementing Next Design
In Next Design, design information—such as requirements, system design, software design, and testing—is structured and managed as models based on a metamodel. Furthermore, relationships and traceability between models can be managed centrally.
Furthermore, the Next Design AI Toolkit enables AI agents to utilize this structured design information from Next Design.
People and AI can use the same design information as a common foundation to carry out design tasks such as model creation, review, verification, and revision.
AI assists with organizing and verifying large volumes of design information, creating preliminary model drafts, and performing checks based on review criteria. Designers review the results generated and proposed by the AI in Next Design and make decisions based on their design intent and requirements.
Next Design not only centralizes the management of design information but also serves as a development platform where both people and AI agents can utilize that information together, thereby supporting AI-driven software development.
[1] MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a mechanism for connecting AI agents to external tools and data. ↩