IoT Gateways will change PLC's forever..

Industrial process computing has been slow to change and migrate to new technology. As a rule Industrial computing technology (the PLC- Programmable Logic Computer) was built to have longevity and reliability. IoT and Industry 4.0 has brought changes to the way organizations are looking at implementing and collecting data. More edge measurement devices are internet or protocol enabled and implementing these devices can provide additional data for business process improvement. It is no surprise that post Raspberry PI experimentation and explosion the amount of excitement and effort that was generated around Micro computing capabilities grew. It is not a huge leap in business that these devices would change how we approach solving problems. In addition, with the very low cost of these devices there has been a surge of companies now producing small fan less industrial computers. These devices are capable of providing edge computing as well as a data transport layer like Ethernet, cellular, or radio. Software on these devices provide more flexibility than ever in how to collect and send data. It is here in these Gateways that the changes from the legacy PLC approach are now being noticed and applied. With tools like IoT International’s RiOT Engine data can be taken in from devices and processed. The capability for controls programming is inherent on the Gateway with C# scripting engines it provide the younger generation of programmers the tools they need instead of the legacy “ladder logic” propriety programs provided by many manufactures. The RiOT engine provides a C# scripting engine tied to multiple protocol inputs. There are literally 1.5 million active C# developers that industry can pull from to implement these control technologies from the gateway devices. This fact coupled with the low cost of the Gateways and remote I/O devices make it an easy path for organizations as they move forward both implementing IoT technology and replacing legacy PLC devices that are aging and are both proprietary and expensive.