Industrial edge computing enables cutting-edge indoor agricultural control and business intelligence.

Indoor agriculture is more than just greenhouses now, and for good reason. As populations grow and food demand increases, supply chains become stressed. By moving agriculture indoors, food production can happen even in the middle of dense towns and cities where many food products are ultimately bound. And unlike Mother Nature, indoor environments can be controlled for consistent, efficient, year-round production.

But as you know, not all automation is alike. Traditional control systems designed for large-scale environments aren’t well-suited to the skillset or budget of many small, indoor grow operations, but on the other hand, more affordable solutions lack centralized integration. Solutions big and small also fail to provide the security, storage, and communication features that could support useful data collection for developing business intelligence (BI).

So when MicroClimates set out to design a scalable automation and BI solution to support the growing indoor ag industry, "we went out to look for the best of breed hardware to put our software onto and that's why we ended up with groov RIO", says Loren West, MicroClimates’s CTO.

Join Cirrus Link Solutions and Opto 22 for a new webinar highlighting advanced features of MQTT and Ignition 8.

You'll want to add this important webinar to your December events schedule. Arlen Nipper, co-inventor of MQTT and CTO of Cirrus Link Solutions, will once again be hosting an informative virtual event showcasing the latest features of MQTT and Ignition 8 software (the latest release from Inductive Automation). Opto 22's Benson Hougland will also be hosting and providing live product demonstrations of this new technology.

Hot on the heels of our recent groov EPIC 3.0 firmware release comes our groov RIO 3.0.1 firmware update.

There are at least 5 exciting additions in this RIO 3.0.1 package, but who's counting?

TL;DR: If you can't wait to get started, here’s the groov RIO Firmware download page to get your firmware update:
https://www.opto22.com/support/resources-tools/downloads/groov-rio-firmware

New resource page gives you one place to find everything you need to know about getting started with MQTT.

You might have heard MQTT mentioned in a previous OptoBlog series, or have seen it included in our groov EPIC and groov RIO product features, and perhaps you've watched a few videos about it in the Opto Video Library. But, do you still have questions? You're not alone. Engineers and automation professionals want to be educated on this popular IoT protocol, and we're here to help.

Innovative engineer turns to Opto 22 to power an EPIC Chevy Silverado lift system

Download case study pdf

What do you do if you own a beautiful truck but one day find yourself a wheelchair user? Chances are you’ve never considered that possibility, but answering that kind of question is what Dave Aitchison of Dignified Motors does every day.

Updated technical guide provides instructions for setting up communications between your Opto 22 groov products and your systems and equipment.

Are you using one or more of Opto 22's groov products? Our documentation team has just updated the "Guide to Networking groov Products" to help you securely monitor, control, and move data between your automation equipment and computer networks, including the internet. 

Networking can be a complex subject, and connecting both operation technology (OT) and information technology (IT) can bring up some security concerns. We're here to simplify that process.

Get an overview of exciting new features just added to groov EPIC and see why you'll want to update. (Hint: LDAP)

Everyone here at Opto 22 is very excited to announce the groov EPIC firmware 3.0 release. In fact, there is so much cool stuff in this release, I am a little lost knowing in what order to list them, so let's just jump right in and see what's in store…

New website resources include libraries of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) of groov EPIC and groov RIO products for use in Lucidchart.

A recent blog post sharing our Microsoft® Visio Stencil libraries proved to be very a popular and useful tool for our Opto 22 followers. So, we've added more website resources and options for helping you with your Opto 22 drawings and diagrams. 

Welcome two more integration companies with groov EPIC and RIO expertise to the OptoPartner program.

It's always exciting to see how Opto 22 products are used in field applications and our growing list of OptoPartners gives customers even more options for finding their ideal product solution. OptoPartners are experienced and skilled in using our industrial control products and are qualified to help with integrating, installing, and maintaining Opto 22 systems.

Opto 22's Node-RED expert Terry Orchard shares a new series of videos for developers to help get the most out of your groov RIO.

Our Node-RED videos continue to be one of the most watched series on our website and YouTube channel. Included in both groov EPIC and groov RIO, Node-RED is an open-source software program used to wire together devices, databases, cloud applications, and APIs (application program interfaces) with simple logic flows. It's growing in popularity, and engineers, programmers, and developers are hungry to learn more.