Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Altium Develop keeps requirements, design data, sourcing, and manufacturing in one connected workflow, so the decisions driving your PCB never get buried in a spec document nobody reads: altium.com/develop?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=ontrack-podcast&utm_content=ai-pcb-design-turning-a-100-page-spec-into-an-mcu-shortlist
Marco Witzmann, Head of Requirements Portal at Altium, returns to the Altium OnTrack Podcast to show host Zach Peterson what the tool formerly known as Requirements Manager has become. In a live demo, Marco starts from a plain-language email about a wind-farm inspection drone and watches the new engineering assistant turn it into properly formulated requirements, complete with TBD placeholders instead of invented numbers. From there he breaks a high-level product spec down into mechanical, electronics, and flight software specifications, with parent-child links and full traceability generated automatically. Every change is proposed first and applied only when you approve it, so the agent never silently rewrites your project.
The heart of the episode is the workflow every PCB designer recognizes: you are handed a hundred-page IMU specification and told to pick the MCU. Marco drag-and-drops the PDF into the AI-assisted importer, lets it separate real requirements from tables of contents and revision history, then asks the agent which requirements actually drive MCU selection. The answer comes back as a clean parameter-and-value spec — supply voltage, ambient temperature range, power budget, clock speed, end-to-end latency — linked back to the originals, and ready to drop straight into an Octopart parametric search. Marco and Zach also dig into what AI should and should not decide for you, why requirements work is really about faster iteration rather than perfect first drafts, how skills let a team standardize the way requirements get written, and what is next on the roadmap: API access, simpler ECAD integration, and per-project access control.
📚 More from this Episode:
- Altium Requirements Portal: altium.com/capabilities/requirements/requirements-management
- Requirements & Systems Portal documentation: altium.com/documentation/altium-365/requirements-portal
- Altium 365: altium.com/altium-365
- Octopart parametric search: octopart.com
- Altium Develop pricing and subscriptions: altium.com/develop/pricing
- Connect with Marco Witzmann on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marcowitzmann
💡 Watch Next:
- Altium Requirements Portal: Simplifying Engineering Docs: youtube.com/watch?v=achPFrmKk58
- Revolutionary System Design: How Valispace is Changing Engineering: youtube.com/watch?v=imCJzrbvk6U
- Inside Simberian's AI-Driven Design Automation: youtube.com/watch?v=s_fcpgeEE-8
💡 Stay Connected:
Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more in-depth tutorials and tips from @AltiumAcademy Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below!
👉 Subscribe for more: youtube.com/@AltiumAcademy?sub_confirmation=1
Don't forget to follow us on social to stay up-to-date on the latest Altium Academy content.
👉 Follow Altium on TikTok: tiktok.com/@altiumdesigner
👉 Follow Altium on Twitter: twitter.com/altium
👉 Follow Altium on Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/altium
👉 Follow Altium on Facebook: facebook.com/AltiumOfficial
The Altium Academy is an online experience created to bring modern education to PCB Designers and Engineers all across the world. Here you can access a vast library of free training and educational content covering everything from basic design to advanced principles and step-by-step walkthroughs. Join industry legends as they share their career knowledge, review real-life design projects, or learn how to leverage one of Altium's leading design tools. No matter your level of experience, the Altium Academy can help you become a better Designer and Engineer!
About Altium LLC
Altium LLC (ASX:ALU), a global software company based in San Diego, California, is accelerating the pace of innovation through electronics. From individual inventors to multinational corporations, more PCB designers and engineers choose Altium software to design and realize electronics-based products.
#altium #pcbdesign #aiengineering
00:00 Altium OnTrack Podcast Intro ️
03:16 Design Review Structure
05:12 Target Audience for Tool
07:11 Requirements Portal Changes
09:15 Engineering Assistant Use
12:20 Applying Agent Changes
15:15 Break Down Requirements Skill ️
18:24 AI as Engineering Assistant
20:28 AI for Requirement Inference
22:36 MCU Selection from Requirements
25:13 MCU Spec Parent-Child Trace
26:57 Agentic Flow Limitations
28:57 Requirements Portal Access
30:51 Conclusion & Farewell
Altium Develop keeps requirements, design data, sourcing, and manufacturing in one connected workflow, so the decisions driving your PCB never get buried in a spec document nobody reads: altium.com/develop?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=ontrack-podcast&utm_content=ai-pcb-design-turning-a-100-page-spec-into-an-mcu-shortlist
Marco Witzmann, Head of Requirements Portal at Altium, returns to the Altium OnTrack Podcast to show host Zach Peterson what the tool formerly known as Requirements Manager has become. In a live demo, Marco starts from a plain-language email about a wind-farm inspection drone and watches the new engineering assistant turn it into properly formulated requirements, complete with TBD placeholders instead of invented numbers. From there he breaks a high-level product spec down into mechanical, electronics, and flight software specifications, with parent-child links and full traceability generated automatically. Every change is proposed first and applied only when you approve it, so the agent never silently rewrites your project.
The heart of the episode is the workflow every PCB designer recognizes: you are handed a hundred-page IMU specification and told to pick the MCU. Marco drag-and-drops the PDF into the AI-assisted importer, lets it separate real requirements from tables of contents and revision history, then asks the agent which requirements actually drive MCU selection. The answer comes back as a clean parameter-and-value spec — supply voltage, ambient temperature range, power budget, clock speed, end-to-end latency — linked back to the originals, and ready to drop straight into an Octopart parametric search. Marco and Zach also dig into what AI should and should not decide for you, why requirements work is really about faster iteration rather than perfect first drafts, how skills let a team standardize the way requirements get written, and what is next on the roadmap: API access, simpler ECAD integration, and per-project access control.
📚 More from this Episode:
- Altium Requirements Portal: altium.com/capabilities/requirements/requirements-management
- Requirements & Systems Portal documentation: altium.com/documentation/altium-365/requirements-portal
- Altium 365: altium.com/altium-365
- Octopart parametric search: octopart.com
- Altium Develop pricing and subscriptions: altium.com/develop/pricing
- Connect with Marco Witzmann on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marcowitzmann
💡 Watch Next:
- Altium Requirements Portal: Simplifying Engineering Docs: youtube.com/watch?v=achPFrmKk58
- Revolutionary System Design: How Valispace is Changing Engineering: youtube.com/watch?v=imCJzrbvk6U
- Inside Simberian's AI-Driven Design Automation: youtube.com/watch?v=s_fcpgeEE-8
💡 Stay Connected:
Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more in-depth tutorials and tips from @AltiumAcademy Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below!
👉 Subscribe for more: youtube.com/@AltiumAcademy?sub_confirmation=1
Don't forget to follow us on social to stay up-to-date on the latest Altium Academy content.
👉 Follow Altium on TikTok: tiktok.com/@altiumdesigner
👉 Follow Altium on Twitter: twitter.com/altium
👉 Follow Altium on Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/altium
👉 Follow Altium on Facebook: facebook.com/AltiumOfficial
The Altium Academy is an online experience created to bring modern education to PCB Designers and Engineers all across the world. Here you can access a vast library of free training and educational content covering everything from basic design to advanced principles and step-by-step walkthroughs. Join industry legends as they share their career knowledge, review real-life design projects, or learn how to leverage one of Altium's leading design tools. No matter your level of experience, the Altium Academy can help you become a better Designer and Engineer!
About Altium LLC
Altium LLC (ASX:ALU), a global software company based in San Diego, California, is accelerating the pace of innovation through electronics. From individual inventors to multinational corporations, more PCB designers and engineers choose Altium software to design and realize electronics-based products.
#altium #pcbdesign #aiengineering
00:00 Altium OnTrack Podcast Intro ️
03:16 Design Review Structure
05:12 Target Audience for Tool
07:11 Requirements Portal Changes
09:15 Engineering Assistant Use
12:20 Applying Agent Changes
15:15 Break Down Requirements Skill ️
18:24 AI as Engineering Assistant
20:28 AI for Requirement Inference
22:36 MCU Selection from Requirements
25:13 MCU Spec Parent-Child Trace
26:57 Agentic Flow Limitations
28:57 Requirements Portal Access
30:51 Conclusion & Farewell
