Open Source PLCs: Arduino’s Disruption of Industrial Automation

Arduino’s story began in 2008 with a mission to simplify embedded computing for non-engineers. What made Arduino unique wasn’t just its affordability but also its accessibility. For the first time, students, designers, and innovators of all stripes could prototype ideas without needing a deep understanding of electrical engineering or having to spend countless hours deciphering complex microcontroller datasheets.

In our conversation, Fabio and I discussed the critical role Arduino has played for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the “factory hackers” that work there. These are the unsung heroes of industrial innovation—teams and individuals who build solutions with the tools around them to solve specific problems in their factories. Whether it’s retrofitting machines with IIoT sensors, creating quality control jigs, or automating environmental monitoring, SMEs have embraced Arduino for its rapid prototyping capabilities and cost efficiency.

I’ve seen this firsthand on many shop floors. Walk through one of these factories, and you’ll often spot a contraption powered by Arduino, quickly cobbled together to solve a pressing issue. From lighting up Andon systems to creating custom data acquisition tools, these solutions reflect the ingenuity and resourcefulness of teams that need to act quickly and affordably. While these “hacks” are impressive, they’ve historically faced challenges scaling to production-grade systems.

Inspired by feedback from enterprises that were already using Arduino boards for prototyping but struggled to take those solutions into production environments, Fabio explained how they introduced Arduino Pro, a line of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and circuit boards dedicated to industrial use cases and enterprise-scale deployments.

In an industry like the PLC market that is dominated by established players, Arduino’s offering had to set itself apart from the incumbents. Legacy PLCs, long considered the backbone of industrial automation, are reliable but often limited in terms of flexibility, integration, and openness. Fabio explained how they took advantage of the growing expectation that industrial controllers should support modern programming paradigms alongside traditional tools. Arduino Pro’s ability to use open-source programming languages allowed users to run complex code on the devices, for example to run AI/ML algorithms or connect to cloud platforms. This gives enterprises new ways to innovate while still maintaining compatibility with legacy systems by maintaining support for traditional IEC languages like ladder logic.

These shifts highlight a larger trend: the push for democratized industrial technology. It’s a move toward systems that are easier to use, more open, and better aligned with the needs of today’s engineers. Arduino Pro is just one example of how companies are responding to these demands, but the broader movement represents a fundamental change in how industrial automation systems are being designed and implemented.

A key takeaway from my conversation with Fabio was the importance of open source in driving innovation. Arduino’s success is rooted in its transparency and accessibility. From the start, users could see how the platform worked, tweak it, and adapt it to their needs. This openness has fostered a global community of developers who continue to push the boundaries of what Arduino can do.

In the industrial sector, where closed systems have historically been the norm, solutions that are open source and open architecture offer a powerful alternative. By exposing the inner workings of hardware and software, companies can build trust, accelerate development cycles, and reduce vendor lock-in.

From a business perspective, open source also fosters collaboration. Customers and partners can identify bugs, contribute improvements, and even extend the platform in ways the original creators might not have imagined. A “black box” product can often be an inhibitor of innovation. Transparency, on the other hand, unlocks new possibilities.

The journey of Arduino—from empowering hobbyists to enabling industrial innovation—is a testament to the power of simplicity, openness, and citizen development. With Arduino Pro, the company is now catering not just to the needs of factory hackers and SMEs, but actively challenging the status quo in the enterprise industrial automation market. And by staying true to its open-source roots, Arduino is ensuring that its impact will be felt for generations to come.

For all the factory hackers and citizen developers out there: keep building, keep experimenting, and keep sharing your ideas. Let’s keep the innovation train rolling.