Join us next week at the Open IoT Summit in Portland, Oregon. 

As the Internet of Things (IoT) gains momentum, this conference brings together system architects, firmware developers, software developers, and application developers.

Topics: Internet of Things, IoT, optonews, Events & conferences, IIoT, Industrial Internet of Things, OptoNews 2017-02-15

Our developer.opto22.com site gets a lot of traffic from developers working with SNAP PACs, groov, Node-RED, and industrial I/O for Raspberry Pi. 

Since all Opto 22 products are designed on open standards, you have a variety of ways to interact with them and integrate with other systems. The developer site helps you do that.

Topics: groov, Internet of Things, IoT, Machine builder, optonews, PACs, OEM, Integrators, API, REST API, IIoT, Industrial Internet of Things, OptoNews 2017-02-15

As noted in Opto 22’s recent edge computing technology primer, one of the key problems currently facing the IIoT is Internet bandwidth limitations. We’re talking about connecting billions of sensors to networks that were never designed to handle that kind of traffic.

I can remember the painful days of dial up Internet connectivity when millions of people started connecting their PCs to the Internet through tiny little phone lines, watching file transfers drag on and on for hours.

Topics: Internet of Things, IoT, IIoT, Industrial Internet of Things

Opto 22 will exhibit and present at ELC + OpenIoT Summit North America

About the Show

This month Opto 22 is exhibiting and presenting a technical workshop at the Open IoT Summit in Portland, Oregon.

It's a great opportunity to take a look at some of our new products and solutions that leverage open technology—like a REST API for an industrial controller and Node-RED running on our groov Box.

Topics: IoT, IIoT, Raspberry Pi, Digital I/O for Raspberry Pi

Although we may think of Middle Eastern countries as being oil-rich, that description doesn't always apply. The country of Jordan, for example, has typically imported 96% of its energy from neighboring countries.

But Jordan has plenty of sun, and the government is committed to investing heavily in renewable energy. 

Topics: Energy management, Case studies, groov, Internet of Things, IoT, optonews, Integrators, mobile, IIoT, Industrial Internet of Things, OptoNews 2017-02-01

So you know .NET—or Modbus—or Python—or HART. Can you use those development tools and protocols (or many others) with Opto 22 products?

You'll find the answer in our new technical note, Communication Tools & Protocols for Opto 22 Products. 

Topics: Process control, Internet of Things, Tips, IoT, optonews, PACs, Integrators, IIoT, Industrial Internet of Things, OptoNews 2017-02-01

Drones are playing a key role in the Industrial Internet of Things. Not to mention the fact that they’re pretty much all the rage today with just about everyone.

I would hazard a guess that almost everyone you know knows someone who has one. They’re in all the stores at the mall, the military has fleets of them protecting the skies, and I can’t wait to see Amazon’s version dropping my packages off on my front doorstep.

Topics: Internet of Things, IoT, IIoT, Industrial Internet of Things

Understanding how productive, efficient, and profitable your business operations are takes constant monitoring and analysis.

One of the tools used in manufacturing, automation, and process control to stay on top of these metrics is  key performance indicators, or KPIs.

KPIs can be applied to all levels of a business, from manufacturing to sales, marketing, operations, and customer service.

Topics: Process control, groov, Tips, IoT, IIoT, Industrial Internet of Things

Attention industrial engineers: If you're not thinking about how secure that new wiz-bang-flashy PLC or PAC is before you purchase it, you're setting yourself up for a world of pain down the road.

Industrial control systems are used across a wide range of industries, from manufacturing and fabrication, to electricity generation and transmission, to oil refining and water treatment—all industries where a network security compromise could mean huge losses of capital for the business.

Recently we’re seeing many of these traditionally proprietary control systems—distributed control systems, PLCs, and SCADA applications—adding new, more open technologies like Ethernet and TCP/IP. And with organizations' increasing interest in the business advantages of obtaining system data, industrial control systems are now being connected to information technology (IT) networks.

That's scary.

Topics: Internet of Things, Tips, IoT, Networking, Security, IIoT, Industrial Internet of Things

You never feel like you know enough about security.

And security issues and recommendations are constantly changing, as the bad guys try to hack in and the good guys try to keep them out. 

Here are a couple of new blog posts on this important subject, both by Opto 22's Matt Newton, who has years of experience in both automation and IT (information technology). 

Topics: Internet of Things, PLCs, IoT, optonews, PACs, Security, IIoT, Industrial Internet of Things, OptoNews 2017-01-18