groov EPIC firmware version 1.5.0 is available now and has several great new features and a few bug fixes. While our groov EPIC Readme file has all the technical details, here's a sweeping look at the new features I'm most excited about.

(Existing groov EPIC users can log into your MyOpto22 groov Manage account now to get your free update!)

The end of 2019 is quickly approaching, and the Opto 22 team is once again preparing for the holidays.

As we look back on 2019, it was another EPIC year that included exciting new features and changes for the groov EPIC system. Here's a recap of some of the highlights and our upcoming holiday schedule.

This newly released video walks you through using a serial to USB converter with your groov EPIC PR1 controller.

In our latest video, Applications Engineer Ben Orchard is back to give you step-by-step instructions for reading serial data via the EPIC's USB port with a RS-232 to USB converter.

Opto 22 speaks up for open-source software.

For this month’s IoT feature in Design World magazine, Opto 22 had the chance to weigh in on the value that open-source software brings to industrial automation.

Some key points for the industry:

• Open source is everywhere in the enterprise and consumer sectors, powering innovation in products, services, and projects we all know.
• Open source changes the economic model for industry, freeing engineers and end users from the trap of vendor
  lock-in.
• Open source accelerates innovation and offers key technologies that empower IIoT growth.

Three more companies join the OptoPartner program to give you cutting-edge IIoT product solutions.

Do you need help integrating, installing, or updating your Opto 22 system? An OptoPartner can help. OptoPartners have a proven track record of working with Opto 22 industrial control products (like the groov EPIC system).

And if you need help on an industrial internet of things (IIoT) project, contact one of our IoT OptoPartners.

If you are using PAC Control with either SNAP PACs or groov EPIC, please be aware of an urgent bug fix related to how the control engine configures PID loops.

The issue affects:

• SNAP PAC firmware R10.0a - R10.0f: It is advised you update to SNAP PAC firmware R10.0h immediately.
• groov EPIC (all versions): We recommend you update to groov EPIC R1.4.4.

Opto 22 is once again partnering with Inductive Automation for a free all-day seminar in downtown Chicago on November 19, 2019:
Digital Transformation Made Easy with Ignition and MQTT: Learn how Combining IT & OT Empowers Innovation Within Your Enterprise

Curious to get your hands on a groov EPIC learning center (LC)? So was I. Lucky me, this was dropped off at my cubicle recently. Let’s see what’s inside!

What's new at Opto 22? We've had plenty to talk about this past month, so here's a recap of product, firmware, and software updates, as well as new groov I/O module releases!

Learn about new groov EPIC system capabilities, and make sure you are using the latest versions of firmware and software to optimize system performance.

New groov  I/O modules available now

Three new groov I/O modules were released this week as we continue to expand the groov EPIC system to support your application requirements. These modules include designs for mixed signal types, signal isolation, channel density, and also meet precise requirements for temperature control. 

One of the new features in recent versions of the groov EPIC firmware (R1.4.0+) that hasn’t gotten much attention yet is the built-in virtual private network (VPN) client. I’m excited about it because it’s an incredibly rare feature in PLCs and PACs and makes it much easier to create a secure architecture for managing remote equipment.

Why? Because a VPN essentially creates a secure tunnel through the internet—using encryption and user authentication—that can connect remote EPICs to your PC or trusted company network. From a security and connectivity standpoint, it’s like the EPIC is on your desk or in your facility, protected in all the ways you protect your company network. Anything you can do with a locally networked device, you can do with a remote system using VPN.