Ascent of Agentic AI to Serve NDE 4.0

The field of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) is currently undergoing its fourth revolution, known as NDE 4.0, which is characterized by the integration of digital technologies and physical inspection methods into closed-loop cyber-physical systems. This profound shift aligns with the broader industrial ecosystem’s progression through stages of digital penetration: digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation. One of the core technologies driving this shift is artifi- cial intelligence (AI), defined as a system’s capability to accurately interpret external data, learn from it, and apply those learn- ings to achieve specific tasks through flexible adaptation. Understanding how different forms of AI correspond to the stages of NDE’s digital maturity is crucial for strategic adoption.