Are you as fascinated as we are by the variety of "smart" devices now becoming available—and affordable?

One of these is Belkin's WeMo switch. Plug the switch into an electrical outlet, plug in a light or appliance, and you can remotely turn it on or off with your smartphone.

Our own OptoMary couldn't resist writing a little PAC Control code for the WeMo so she could add it to her groov mobile operator interface. She explains how she did it and includes her sample WeMo flowchart in this Control "smart" devices - WeMo Example OptoForum post.

You've heard us talk about how you can control your system on your mobile with groov.

• "Your system" means any industrial automation, building automation, or other system that talks OPC UA. (Check out the list of compatible systems.)
• "Your mobile" means any smartphone or tablet with a modern web browser. (See compatible devices.)

Why this flexibility? Because groov is based on the automation standard for interoperability (OPC UA), and on Internet standards for web browsers (like SVG and HTML5).

Opto 22 engineer Ben Orchard is just like a lot of us—he can't resist tinkering with controls whether he's at work or at home.

So of course he's automated his home: sprinklers (key item in a hot area like Temecula that gets little rainfall), Philips hue lights (atmosphere!), and WeMo electrical outlet switches (safety, convenience).

Ben's got them all set up so he and his family can monitor and control all these from the computer in the kitchen or from smartphones and tablets anywhere. And everything's managed in the same operator interface, which works on any brand PC or mobile device because it runs in a modern web browser like Firefox or Chrome or IE10.

All this talk about the Internet of Things... but what does it really mean to you and me?

At the Internet of Things North America conference this week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Opto 22's Ben Orchard presented some new ideas on how we can approach these "smart" sensors and devices and equipment so they make sense for us.

Ben starts in his own geeky house, where his Philips hue lights, WeMo switches, and Twitter account (among other things) make up his own personal Internet of Things.

Now you can easily build mobile interfaces for virtually any automation system.

Allen-Bradley, Siemens, GE, Schneider, Yokogawa, Modbus: with groov 2 you can securely monitor and control these and many more systems—through a groov operator interface that you can use on just about any mobile device.