Development Environment for IIoT Applications Prototypes Connecting Equipment to the Cloud

An illustration of the browser-based flow editing in Node-RED. (Image courtesy of Node-RED.)

Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solution provider Opto 22 has announced Node-RED integration within its groov IIoT platform. The groov platform allows users to build custom web-based interfaces and mobile apps to interact with their automated systems. With the Node-RED integration, users will have access to a powerful yet simple visual wiring tool they can use to develop advanced IIoT functionality.

Node-RED and groov

Node-RED is a “visual tool for wiring the Internet of Things” that aims to simplify coding and development. IoT application developers don’t even need to write a single line of code, as Node-RED provides an intuitive visual interface for connecting edge computing devices to cloud servers. The open-source tool is built on Node.js, and it stores user flows using JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) for easy import and export of files.

Here’s how it works: users open the browser-based editor, which begins as a blank canvas. There’s a library of 600 prebuilt nodes to make it quick and easy to get started on building a flow. However, more personalized functionality is easy to create with the built-in JavaScript function editor. By wiring together different nodes, users can intuitively build rich IoT applications without the hassle of low-level details.

It may be easier to get a sense of Node-RED by watching this brief video example:

Node-RED should complement groov quite well, as groov also takes a no-coding, quick-and-easy approach to IIoT applications. Users employ a simple drag-and-drop interface to build, deploy and view dashboards for their IIoT systems. These dashboards are viewable online and on iOS and Android devices, and they can even be displayed on a smart TV on the factory floor.

The Opto 22 groov Box appliance. Groov is also available as software for Windows. (Image courtesy of Opto 22.)

Groov supports the Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA) standard to communicate with many different machines and systems. It also supports Modbus TCP and can connect multiple devices, databases and third-party APIs.

Painless IIoT Development

The integration of Opto 22 groov and Node-RED constitutes a platform for many IIoT or edge computing applications, and helps make the user experience as simple and friendly as possible. The combination gives developers the ability to quickly prototype and deploy IIoT applications using maker boards such as Raspberry Pi.

If you’re looking to get your automated industrial systems up quickly, the groov/Node-RED combo appears to be a contender, especially if you just want to get your dashboards. And if you’re developing your own IIoT solutions, it may be worth taking a page out of the ease-of-use book—simple visual tools like groov and Node-RED are sure to be appealing to less tech-savvy customers.

For more IIoT news, check out New IIoT Platform Promises Scalable M2M Data Analytics.