Opto 22 is now a silver level member of the Linux Foundation, a non-profit consortium dedicated to growing Linux and promoting standardization and technical collaboration. In joining the foundation, Opto 22 will be spearheading the adoption of open-source technology in the industrial automation and process control industries.
According to Opto 22, new technologies from the open-source community are beginning to enter the traditionally proprietary technology space of industrial applications and as open-source adoption grows, commerce and society will come to depend on the software code developed to support that adoption.
Opto 22 is one of the first manufacturers in the industrial automation industry to design products on open standards as well as one of the first control and I/O system manufacturers to add Ethernet connectivity and the TCP/IP protocol to an industrial controller.
Today, the company has pledged a commitment to open-source technology and the accelerated adoption of industry standards by releasing an industry-first RESTful API (application program interface) to an industrial automation controller. The API allows developers to use their software language of choice to build applications that collect data from and control real-world electrical devices like sensors, motors, and pumps. Shortly after releasing the RESTful API, Opto 22 released Node-RED nodes for its SNAP PAC system controllers.
“When businesses choose to leverage open-source software, they are in effect choosing to free themselves of the painful pitfall of vendor lock-in," Benson Hougland, VP of marketing and product strategy for Opto 22 says. "Customers who choose to adopt a product built around a proprietary technology stack are at the mercy of their vendor. It’s time to start driving our products toward a development strategy that liberates customers from vendor lock-in and gives them a choice of vendors to work with.”
