i'm developing a mobile web interface & a SaaS architecture for my buddy's greenhouse & hydroponics controller business [1]. the backend comm is MODBUS/TCP (ethernet) or MODBUS/RTU (serial).
he's currently in Long Beach at the Maximum Yield expo showing off the early alpha I ummm, "polished off" at 4am last night :) [2]
it's cool because his customers and oems have been hounding him for some time for an Android and iOS app and for his software to work on OSX, Linux. (currently it's Windows only, C#/.NET).
a web app + SaaS was the most natural choice. also, i don't think anything like this exists yet.
Is there any wireless communication? I've been building a similar pH monitor using XBee communication. If your buddy would like to someone else to work with, I've been doing this in my free time.
the controllers, the heart of which are industrial PLCs, do have ethernet modules but no wifi since the reliability is critical in automation. however with a wifi router and some quick config, you can get this fairly easily, assuming the client talks modbus/tcp and knows how to query the controller's register maps.
i'm working on a plan to replace the ethernet module with a BeagleBone Black + Arch and a nodjs-based tcp->serial modbus proxy. lots to do, especially when you also have a 9-5 :)
Xbee isn't bad, provided you have good signal strength. Before I started teaching I worked for an HVAC optimization company that automated fast food restaurant chain air conditioning. It folded due to politics with the owners, but the product worked really well. One of our early adopters was actually a small Health Center.
I've got some modbus scripts that were written in Python while we were working with one of our clients. Its nothing great, just a few read/write functions. If you want I'll send them to you.
he's currently in Long Beach at the Maximum Yield expo showing off the early alpha I ummm, "polished off" at 4am last night :) [2]
it's cool because his customers and oems have been hounding him for some time for an Android and iOS app and for his software to work on OSX, Linux. (currently it's Windows only, C#/.NET).
a web app + SaaS was the most natural choice. also, i don't think anything like this exists yet.
[1] http://agrowtek.com
[2] http://i.imgur.com/e6E8Osw.png