Blogs
Connectivity: Where There is a Will, There is a Way
Connectivity promises easier support, but every connection brings tradeoffs. Through four versions of the same Monday, a controls engineer discovers that getting a controller connected may be the easy part. Supporting the customer is what really matters.
RS-485 vs. EKM Power Meter
A practical look at using RS-485 to network multiple EKM power meters with a JNIOR. We follow the application from the two-wire connection through Java communications and protocol handling to retrieving real-time power and cumulative energy measurements.
Reading Tesla Powerwall State of Charge Locally
Retrieve actual Tesla Powerwall state of charge directly from the local Powerwall Gateway. We show how a JNIOR running JANOS v2.6 uses HTTPS, HTTP and JSON to acquire the data and integrate it into a real-time solar monitoring system.
Trustworthy Edge Control Demands Determinism and Longevity
Edge controllers only earn lasting trust when runtime responsiveness and decades-long relevance are architected into the platform as a single continuous discipline.
The Edge Controller Turns 25
Twenty-five years ago, an industrial controller connected real-world I/O to Ethernet, TCP/IP, Java applications, Web browsers, and remote systems. We still have the original hardware and documentation. So we opened one up to see exactly what was inside.
OT And Beyond
Long before anyone called it OT—or talked about edge computing—industrial controllers were already evolving toward both. Follow the progression from machinery control through networking, operating systems, and the Web to something we would eventually give a much simpler name: the edge controller.
The CISA Alert: Security Beyond Solitary Confinement
CISA is right to sound the alarm over Internet-exposed operational technology. But must every unwanted connection be answered with more authentication, stronger cryptography, and more processing power? There are remarkably lightweight ways to make malicious automation work harder while allowing OT controllers to concentrate on the job they were installed to do.
Browsers on the Edge
Designing the JNIOR edge controller has provided a front-row seat to the collision between browsers and industrial automation. As browsers become the default user interface for edge devices, they continue to carry assumptions inherited from a very different world. Is it time to reconsider those assumptions?
Determinism: In the Eye of the Beholder
Engineers often ask whether a controller is deterministic. The more important question is why they ask. This article examines determinism not as an end in itself, but as a measure of confidence, predictability, and trust in real-world automation systems.
Products Have Lifecycles. Platforms Have Careers.
Most products are consumed. Tools are mastered. The difference shapes every engineering decision behind JNIOR, from long-term compatibility to free technical support. This article explores why designing a tool demands a fundamentally different philosophy than designing a product.
How JNIOR Got Its Own Operating System
Every embedded controller depends on an operating system. Most simply inherit one. JNIOR took a different path. This is the story of how a hardware redesign became an opportunity to build JANOS—an operating system created specifically to preserve continuity, reliability, and the freedom to evolve over decades.
INTEG Product Brief
After nearly two decades of providing JNIOR automation controller models in markets like Digital Cinema, we figured it was perhaps about time to describe it from an Industrial Controls perspective. We never really had an ‘elevator pitch’ that could get the concept across in a broadly horizontal sense. Here is the latest attempt.
Importance of the Battery
How do I know if the Battery is good or bad? The battery voltage can be measured with a voltmeter. The voltage of a good battery should be 2.7 volts or greater. Really the battery preserves the clock and the logs located in the root of the filesystem. The JNIOR will continue to work when it dies. It is replaceable on the Series 4.
JNIOR Monitors Solar
Generating electricity from sunlight is only part of the challenge. Operating large-scale solar installations requires continuous monitoring, timely alerts, and reliable control. This article explores how JNIOR provides the edge intelligence needed to turn solar generation into dependable, manageable infrastructure.
Java Applet vs. JNIOR Web Page
Besides the fact that applets are no longer a thing… This post takes a look into what differences you might notice between the Series 4 WebUI and the old Series 3 Java Applets.
Securing a unit with Non-Factory Username and Password
Leaving any device set with a factory Username and Password is a big security risk. Better safe than sorry. Its a saying for a reason!
The JSON Bandwagon
It seems that more often than not these days (at INTEG at least) when we need to store or transfer data we are using the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). This is also known as ECMA-404 The JSON Data Interchange Standard. I have attached the document. If you are not at all interested in JSON you should at least […]