Otto Motors’ solution enables connected industrial automation for OEMs

OTTO Motors, a Kitchener ON-based manufacturer of self-driving vehicles for industry, has released a solution aimed at solving one of the major hurdles in manufacturing today: achieving a fully connected and optimized smart factory. OTTO Industrial API is designed to addresses the challenge of machine-to-machine communication and full industrial automation by simplifying the process of connecting equipment and programmable logic controllers (PLCs). 

“OTTO Motors is really setting the bar high for system accessibility and ease of integration in their market. This new API allows Ignition to seamlessly access the data as OPC tags and integrate them with our built-in components and scripting,” said Don Pearson, chief strategy officer, Inductive Automation. “We are excited to see how this API can remove connectivity barriers that have prevented some people from utilizing self-driving vehicles in the past.”

Contributing to a closed loop automation system

As a collaborating company with Inductive Automation, OTTO Motors integrated Ignition software as part of the Industrial API architecture. Ignition is a software platform with a feature set that include the translation of different protocols to the ones needed to speak to PLCs within manufacturing environments; therefore, contributing to a closed loop automation system.

“The industry has long struggled with the challenge of connecting industrial machines built by different companies,” explains Simon Drexler, director of product, OTTO Motors. “Pieces of equipment from the same company generally communicate easily with each other but creating a connection that enables data to be exchanged across products from different vendors can be complicated, costly, and time consuming – and sometimes impossible. This problem is, at best, a barrier to attaining the benefits of a smart factory that many companies aspire to. At worst, it’s a severe limitation on productivity.”

Available now, the OTTO Industrial API connects self-driving vehicles to existing automation systems and processes, providing faster integration of OTTO with robust and standardized integrations with industry-standard software and protocols. The industry-leading Ignition server software creates total system integration for the plant floor. Together, Inductive Automation and OTTO Motors are driving manufacturers towards greater efficiencies and increased productivity through higher quality and long-term reliability.

“This is a game-changing solution for the manufacturing industry,” said Matthew Rendall, CEO, OTTO Motors. “It has been our mission since day one to improve productivity and efficiency for our customers, and with the OTTO Industrial API, manufacturers can quickly, painlessly and more cost-effectively scale their business.”