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.

To build a mobile user interface in groov, you drag and drop pre-built gadgets—like gauges, switches, and indicators—onto the screen. Then you tag each one with an input, an output, a variable, or another tag from your tag server.

If you're building a groov interface for an Opto 22 SNAP PAC System, your tag server is the tag database in PAC Control.

More than 180,000 visitors from over 100 nations came to Hannover Messe 2014 to explore the future of industry at the world's leading industrial tradeshow—and to see groov, Opto 22's tool for easily building and viewing your automation system on your mobile device.

With the theme of Integrated Industry – Next Steps, this year's trade fair focused on methods and products for intelligent, self-organizing factories—often called Industry 4.0.

If you see someone using an Apple iPad or a Samsung Galaxy at an industrial site, what's your reaction?

Whether you think it's "Russian roulette" or the "new normal," you'll want to read our new white paper. It takes a good look at the pros and cons of using commercial, off-the-shelf smartphones and tablets to monitor and control automation systems and equipment.

You've heard a lot from us about groov, But you may be wondering which groov is right for you.

Let's compare a few choices.

groov Box or groov Server?

groov software and the operator interfaces you build are served in one of two ways: from a hardware appliance (the groov Box) or from a Microsoft Windows computer (groov Server for Windows). Here's how to decide which one you need.

Choose the groov Box (GROOV-AT1) if:

Opto 22's free SNAP PAC System training classes at company headquarters in Temecula, California, are always popular, and it's easy to see why.

For three days you get hands-on training on SNAP PAC controllers, SNAP I/O, and PAC Project automation software. Not to mention lunches, a factory tour, and a bag of gifts.

And now you'll also get hands-on training with groov.

Want to run your groov mobile interface in an app instead of a browser? Our new groov app technical note gives you quick-start steps for setting up your groov View mobile app.

You see, you can use a groov mobile operator interface in two ways: through your web browser, or through the groov View app for Android or iOS.

• The browser advantage: your interface runs on any brand mobile device with a modern web browser.
• The app advantage: your groov interface appears full screen to keep you focused on what you're monitoring or controlling.

We've seen a lot of interest in one particular new feature in the new groov version 2.1: the IP video proxy.

The proxy makes it a lot simpler to include live video from remote IP cameras in your groov mobile interface. You can track physical access to remote installations, monitor hard-to-reach equipment, see how much it's snowed (or how little it's rained), and so much more using live video over the Internet.

The Video gadget's new reverse proxy service option automatically handles all the work of connection to IP cameras over the Internet, so it's just as easy to include live video from outside your facility as from inside.