Opto 22
Encyclopedia
Opto 22 is a manufacturing company specializing in hardware and software products for industrial automation, remote monitoring, and data acquisition
. The company is based in Southern California and is well-known in the automation and control industry for its history of innovation in the development of solid state
relays and Ethernet
-based input/output
systems and controllers. It is based in Temecula, California
.
modules, and created the now universally accepted Yellow-Black-White-Red color scheme used to identify digital AC input, digital AC output, digital DC input, and digital DC output modules respectively.
In 1982, the company created Optomux, a serial-based I/O system using the ASCII
protocol that remains popular to this day. The following year, with the introduction of the personal computer
prompting a shift in the automation industry to PC-based control, Opto 22 developed what was to be the first in a series of software packages for designing control strategies on a PC using flowcharts. This provided a new alternative to the more popular ladder logic
programming model. Later, Opto 22 introduced the mistic controller, which had many of the same features and functionality of a modern programmable automation controller
.
Today, Opto 22 is best known for its "SNAP" brand of Ethernet I/O products, including industrial processors, controllers, I/O racks and modules, software and accessories. In 2007 the company introduced the SNAP PAC System, unifying the aforementioned elements into a fully integrated platform, adding higher powered programmable automation controller
s with redundant Ethernet
communications, new programming and HMI
development software, higher density I/O modules, database
connectivity tools and software that simulated the SNAP PAC controller hardware. The result was a suite of control system components, suitable for simple cell control or complex, distributed control architectures.
Data acquisition
Data acquisition is the process of sampling signals that measure real world physical conditions and converting the resulting samples into digital numeric values that can be manipulated by a computer. Data acquisition systems typically convert analog waveforms into digital values for processing...
. The company is based in Southern California and is well-known in the automation and control industry for its history of innovation in the development of solid state
Solid state (electronics)
Solid-state electronics are those circuits or devices built entirely from solid materials and in which the electrons, or other charge carriers, are confined entirely within the solid material...
relays and Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
-based input/output
Input/output
In computing, input/output, or I/O, refers to the communication between an information processing system , and the outside world, possibly a human, or another information processing system. Inputs are the signals or data received by the system, and outputs are the signals or data sent from it...
systems and controllers. It is based in Temecula, California
Temecula, California
Temecula is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States with a population of 100,097 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it the lowest populated American city over 100,000 population. It was incorporated on December 1, 1989...
.
History
Opto 22 was founded in 1974 as a manufacturer of solid state relays. The company soon expanded its offerings to include a variety of computer-based industrial automation, remote monitoring, and data acquisition products. In 1978, Opto 22 developed the first computer-based plug-in I/OI/O
I/O may refer to:* Input/output, a system of communication for information processing systems* Input-output model, an economic model of flow prediction between sectors...
modules, and created the now universally accepted Yellow-Black-White-Red color scheme used to identify digital AC input, digital AC output, digital DC input, and digital DC output modules respectively.
In 1982, the company created Optomux, a serial-based I/O system using the ASCII
ASCII
The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a character-encoding scheme based on the ordering of the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text...
protocol that remains popular to this day. The following year, with the introduction of the personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
prompting a shift in the automation industry to PC-based control, Opto 22 developed what was to be the first in a series of software packages for designing control strategies on a PC using flowcharts. This provided a new alternative to the more popular ladder logic
Ladder logic
Ladder logic is a programming language that represents a program by a graphical diagram based on the circuit diagrams of relay logic hardware. It is primarily used to develop software for programmable logic controllers used in industrial control applications...
programming model. Later, Opto 22 introduced the mistic controller, which had many of the same features and functionality of a modern programmable automation controller
Programmable automation controller
A programmable automation controller ' is a compact controller that combines the features and capabilities of a PC-based control system with that of a typical programmable logic controller . PACs are most often used in industrial settings for process control, data acquisition, remote equipment...
.
Today, Opto 22 is best known for its "SNAP" brand of Ethernet I/O products, including industrial processors, controllers, I/O racks and modules, software and accessories. In 2007 the company introduced the SNAP PAC System, unifying the aforementioned elements into a fully integrated platform, adding higher powered programmable automation controller
Programmable automation controller
A programmable automation controller ' is a compact controller that combines the features and capabilities of a PC-based control system with that of a typical programmable logic controller . PACs are most often used in industrial settings for process control, data acquisition, remote equipment...
s with redundant Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
communications, new programming and HMI
HMI
HMI can refer to:* Hahn-Meitner-Institut, a research institut in Berlin, Germany, now called Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin* Hammond–Whiting , an Amtrak station in Indiana, United States, with the code HMI....
development software, higher density I/O modules, database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
connectivity tools and software that simulated the SNAP PAC controller hardware. The result was a suite of control system components, suitable for simple cell control or complex, distributed control architectures.