AI does not approve a calculation report. It breaks down a requirements specification, finds a requirement in a standard, translates a datasheet, and formats your results. The sizing and the decision remain yours.
AI helps design engineers with tasks such as “Break down a requirements specification,” “Find a requirement in a standard,” and “Format a calculation report.” Start with a single task, in Gemini Notebook: allow 20 minutes the first time, and always review the result before you use it.
For each task: how it goes today, then with the tool. And the time it takes the first time.
Gemini Notebook · One notebook per project
TodayTwo hundred pages, requirements scattered through the text and the appendices, and the one you forget resurfaces at acceptance testing.
With Gemini NotebookA requirements matrix linked page by page to the specification, with the ambiguities to clear up with the client.
Gemini Notebook · “Chat” panel
TodayYou know the rule exists, but not in which clause, and the standard runs a hundred and fifty pages with its cross-references.
With Gemini NotebookThe applicable clauses, their values, and their conditions, each linked to the passage in the standard.
TodayThe calculation is done, but writing the report, with its assumptions, its references, and its tables, takes as long as the calculation.
With ClaudeA calculation report written to the company’s template, with the inconsistencies flagged.
Also
Claude · “Claude for Microsoft 365” add-in, in Excel
The list of the spreadsheet’s errors and weak points, cell by cell.
Perplexity · “Research”
A comparison table of part numbers, each value linked to the manufacturer’s datasheet.
DeepL · File translation, with “Glossary”
The translated document with its layout, and the list of discrepancies to correct before you use it.
ChatGPT · “Chat” mode, with an attached file
The test curves, the quantities reported with their method, and the deviation from the criterion.
An FMEA template already filled with failure modes to discuss, with the ratings left to the working group.
Granola · “Enhanced” tab
Review notes with the decisions, the reservations, and the actions, ready to send out after a reread.
Elicit · “Research report”
A written report with the references of the studies, to download as a PDF or a Word file.
All 10 use cases on this page are in Nova, each with its steps and its prompt.
Try the interactive demoWhat to check
A client’s requirements specification is often covered by a confidentiality agreement: check the company’s rule before importing it, and prefer a Google Workspace account. Reread the matrix against the document: a forgotten requirement is expensive.
Break down a requirements specificationGemini Notebook · One notebook per projectThe prompt to copy
Using only the sources in this notebook, build the requirements matrix for the specification. One row per requirement, with: a number, the exact text, the page, the type (functional, performance, environmental, regulatory, documentation), the numerical value and its tolerance, and the means of verification requested (calculation, test, certificate). Flag separately the ambiguous requirements, those that contradict each other, and those that refer to a standard that was not provided. Write “not specified” when the document says nothing. Do not interpret: quote.
In Nova, “My path” starts from your level: one next step at a time.
The first moves, with free tools.
In your jobWrite the design review notes
In your jobFind a requirement in a standard
In your jobCompare components or materials
In your jobBreak down a requirements specification
For a team: everyone moves forward in their own job. You see the team’s progress, never one person’s activity.
One notebook per project: requirements specification, standards, datasheets. It answers from those documents alone and shows the passage, so you can check a requirement in one click.
Recommended planFree: 100 notebooks, 50 sources per notebook, 50 questions per day.
It formats a calculation report to your template, prepares an FMEA template, reviews an Excel spreadsheet, and returns a real Word or Excel file.
Recommended planFree to start. Pro, $20 per month ($17 per month if billed yearly). At a company: Team, $25 per user per month ($20 if billed yearly).
Compare materials or components, find a manufacturer’s datasheet: answers with the link to the source.
Recommended planFree: 3 “Pro” searches per day and 1 “Research” report per month. Then: Pro, $20 per month (€22 on the French App Store).
It translates an entire specification or datasheet and keeps the layout, and it follows your glossary of technical terms.
Recommended planFree: 50,000 characters and 1 file per month. For company documents: Individual, €7.49 per month, billed yearly.
It reads a measurement file in Excel or CSV, spots questionable values, and plots the curves of a test.
Recommended planFree, with a limit on files per day. Plus, $20 per month, if you use it every day.
For the state of the art on a process or a material: the scientific studies arranged in a table, with their test conditions and their results.
Recommended planBasic, $0. Then: Pro, $49 per user per month, billed yearly ($588).
Prices taken from the vendors’ official pages, dated on each tool page. These subscriptions are not included in Nova. Brands are named to identify the tools. No affiliation.
Nova recommends 6 to start with: Gemini Notebook, Claude, Perplexity, DeepL, ChatGPT, and Elicit. All of them can be used for free to get started.
Yes. It reads a measurement file in Excel or CSV, spots questionable values, and plots the curves of a test. The plan to choose: Free, with a limit on files per day. Plus, $20 per month, if you use it every day.
With “Break down a requirements specification,” in Gemini Notebook (One notebook per project). Allow 20 minutes the first time. A requirements matrix linked page by page to the specification, with the ambiguities to clear up with the client.
No. Nova is software, not an accredited training provider: it issues no diploma or certification. It costs €19 per month for one person, and €129 per month for a team of up to ten people.