Gone are the days when the control system engineer—"you know, the instrumentation guy, the DCS guy, the PLC and HMI guy"—can handle what needs to be done in automation, says Steve Malyszko, P.E. 

Malyszko's recent article in Automation World says the old skills just won't be enough anymore.

Topics: Process control, Discrete control, Internet of Things, IoT, optonews, Integrators, Careers, IIoT, Industrial Internet of Things, OptoNews 2016-11-09

Are you wiring together devices and software using Node-RED? If you're even thinking about it, we've got a new Node-RED OptoForum for you. 

We announced in the last OptoNews that Node-RED is now a built-in feature in the GROOV-AR1 groov Box!

Topics: groov, Internet of Things, IoT, optonews, IIoT, Industrial Internet of Things, Node-RED, OptoNews 2016-11-09

Here's a chance to learn more about the latest Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, November 29 through December 2 in Austin, Texas—and at a 20% discount.

If you're a JavaScript developer (or might want to be), join us at Node.js Interactive North America.

Topics: Internet of Things, IoT, optonews, Events & conferences, IIoT, Industrial Internet of Things, OptoNews 2016-11-09

Have you wanted to share I/O point or variable data from your SNAP PAC controller with a Microsoft^® Excel^® spreadsheet or Access^® database? 

• Maybe you're tracking sales in a spreadsheet and want to adjust production to match projections.
• Maybe your PAC is monitoring equipment on-time and energy usage, and you want to add that data to an equipment maintenance database.

Topics: Internet of Things, Tips, IoT, optonews, PACs, API, REST API, REST, IIoT, Industrial Internet of Things, OptoNews 2016-11-09

Just released! A major new tool for your Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) project: the groov Box with Node-RED built in.

What is Node-RED?

It's an open-source, cross-platform tool for wiring together hardware devices, databases, cloud services, and APIs (application program interfaces) with simple logic flows.

Topics: groov, Internet of Things, Updates, IoT, optonews, PACs, mobile, IIoT, Industrial Internet of Things, OptoNews 2016-10-26, Node-RED

Node-RED is now included in the GROOV-AR1 groov Box!

But what exactly is Node-RED, and why is that useful to you?

Topics: Internet of Things, IoT, optonews, IIoT, Industrial Internet of Things, OptoNews 2016-10-26, Node-RED

Graphite isn't just for lubrication and No. 2 pencils anymore.

Today it's a key ingredient in many industries, and the finest graphite is essential for nuclear power and semiconductors.

Toyo Tanso Japan was the first company to achieve mass production of this fine-grade isotropic graphite. Their subsidiary, Toyo Tanso USA, manufactures isotropic graphite and also provides graphite-related silicon carbide surface treatments to customers.

Topics: Case studies, Process control, groov, optonews, PACs, mobile, PID loop control, OptoNews 2016-10-26

A recent hint shared in the OptoForum reminded us of a super-useful tool in PAC Control that you might not know about: find missing connections.

Say you're moving blocks around or copying and pasting them. Of course you're in a hurry to get it done, and you forget to make new connections with existing blocks.

Topics: Tips, optonews, PAC Control, OptoNews 2016-10-26

Three new updates have recently been released:

• PAC Project R9.5002
• groov  R3.2b (groov Build and groov View)—Log into manage.groov.com to get your update.
• E1/E2 brainboard firmware R1.2b

Topics: groov, Updates, optonews, I/O, PAC Project, Optomux, Firmware, PAC Control, PAC Manager, OptoNews 2016-10-12

If you're into technology, you may already have a smart thermostat or refrigerator or lights in your home. That's fun and sometimes even useful.

But what's the real value of the Internet of Things?

Topics: Energy management, Internet of Things, Remote monitoring, IoT, optonews, Events & conferences, Integrators, OptoNews 2016-10-12, IIoT