When open source meets industrial performance, engineers gain new tools to innovate – and access technology through entirely new pathways.

Visit Automate Show 2024 (May 6-9) to discover how Arduino is transforming the industrial automation space through open-source hardware and software, providing new perspectives and unlocking opportunities across every industry. More than 30,000 enterprises worldwide already leverage the company’s user-friendly and reliable Arduino Pro hardware, intuitive Arduino Cloud, accessible educational kits and certification courses.

Arduino Opta: The “Swiss Army Knife” of Industrial Automation

Opta is a groundbreaking micro-PLC, successfully adopted to integrate automation with IoT applications due to its security features and built-in connectivity options. It allows users to avoid vendor lock-in and is suitable even for beginners in industrial and building automation, remote monitoring and control, and IoT. Arduino Opta gives users plenty of programming choices: it can be programmed with the key IEC 61131-3 languages as well as within the Arduino environment, also relying on many ready-to-use software libraries and sketches. In addition, the two approaches can be combined to further expand capabilities.

“With Opta, we lower barriers to industrial automation enabling a broad range of projects that were ‘unthinkable’ or ‘unapproachable’ not long ago. We’ve worked hard to provide high-performance hardware and super-secure connectivity at a compelling price point, combined with flexibility in the choice of the preferred programming paradigm between Arduino language and all IEC 61131-3 languages,” comments Arduino’s CEO Fabio Violante.

For more complex projects, Opta’s monitoring and control capabilities can be augmented with I/O expansion modules: Arduino Pro Opta Ext D1608E and Arduino Pro Opta Ext D1608S multiply real-time control points with 16 programmable inputs and 8 digital (electromechanical or solid-state) relay outputs; Arduino Pro Opta Ext A0602 instead allows users to configure new analog I/O to interact with 0-10 V and 0/4-20 mA signals, and get temperature values through PT100, diversifying data acquisition capabilities and expanding actuation possibilities.

Its ease of use has made Opta a favorite tool also in rapid prototyping, education and training. Arduino itself has recently launched the Arduino PLC Starter Kit, based on the Opta WiFi and Arduino PLC IDE, offering a training solution that plugs right into the future of industrial automation. The kit, integration-ready with industrial simulated systems, is designed to introduce students in vocational institutes and tech-oriented academies to IEC 61131-3 standard programming languages and Modbus communications.

Stop by Arduino’s booth #2853 to explore a variety of live demonstrations starring Opta as well as a wide range of Arduino SOMs and turnkey solutions from the Portenta family, Nicla family and more!

New skills, new ways of learning

Don’t miss the joint Opta demo at Weintek USA’s booth, part of a strategic partnership aimed at enhancing STEM HMI+PLC training programs across the United States: “Weintek USA is committed to redefining the way humans and machines interact. It’s a twofold challenge: raising industry standards for data processing and displaying performances on one side, while simultaneously enhancing accessibility to IoT solutions on the other,” says Oscar Rojas, CEO of Weintek USA.

Arduino will also exhibit at Automate’s “Educator Day”, showcasing the PLC Starter Kit and unveiling the ACE-100 course, granting successful participants the highly recognized Arduino Certified Engineer credential: “ACE-100 is a comprehensive training program designed to equip participants with the skills and knowledge needed for industrial and building automation using Arduino Opta. Developed in collaboration with industry experts, the course offers hands-on experience and practical insights into PLC programming. Arduino’s vision of democratizing electronics now extends to industrial automation, lowering barriers to entry with Opta and the ACE-100 course,” states Guneet Bedi, Arduino’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Americas.

Visit Arduino at Automate Show 2024: Booth #2853 at McCormick Place in Chicago, from 6 to 9 May 2024. Click here to schedule time with our team!

Register at this link to attend Automation Show.

About Arduino

Arduino is the leading open-source hardware and software company in the world. Born to provide an easy-to-use platform for anyone making interactive projects, Arduino has reached a growing community and adapted to new needs and challenges, branching out into products for IoT, wearables, 3D printing, and embedded environments. As of today, the Arduino community includes over 33 million active users. With the Pro line, Arduino supports companies that are interested in going beyond the concept and rapid prototyping phase, to start mass production with the support of a qualified industrial partner and high-performance technological solutions.

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"With Opta, we lower barriers to industrial automation enabling a broad range of projects that were ‘unthinkable’ or ‘unapproachable’ not long ago," says Arduino CEO's Fabio Violante. Visit Booth #2853 @AutomateShow to find out more!