Can OPC data monitored by OPC Expert be viewed on a mobile phone or tablet?
Does OPC Expert Support Mobile Monitoring via a Phone or Tablet?
OPC Expert includes a built-in web interface powered by its REST API, which makes OPC data accessible from any device with a web browser. This includes smartphones, tablets running Android or iOS, and other non-Windows platforms. No separate mobile application is required. The trend visualization, real-time data views, and alarm information that OPC Expert generates are accessible through the browser on any device that can reach the OPC Expert host machine over the network.
How Mobile Access Works
OPC Expert acts as a local web server through its REST API component. When the REST API is active, you can navigate to the OPC Expert host’s address from a mobile browser and access the trend and data views that have been configured. The webinar demonstration showed this directly, with the presenter accessing a live trend from a phone after the REST API server was running. The trend display loads in the browser and updates in real time as new OPC data arrives.
What Is Accessible on Mobile
The REST API exposes real-time data values, trend visualizations, and historical data for items that have been subscribed and configured within OPC Expert. This means you can view the same trend charts on a phone that appear in the OPC Expert desktop interface. Alarm and condition data from OPC A&E and OPC UA A&C subscriptions is also accessible through the web interface, giving operators visibility into alarm state from anywhere with network access.
Platform Support
Because the mobile interface is browser-based, it works on Android phones and tablets, iPhones, iPads, and any other device with a modern browser. The REST API also supports programmatic access, so custom mobile dashboards or lightweight client applications built in any programming language can consume the OPC data directly in JSON format.
Relevant Tools
OPC Expert REST API: The underlying mechanism that makes mobile and cross-platform access possible, exposing OPC data through standard HTTP endpoints in JSON format.
OPC Expert (OPC Trend Software): The trend module works with the REST API to make live and historical trend data accessible through any web browser, including mobile browsers.
OPC Expert’s REST API and built-in web interface remove the need for a dedicated mobile application, making OPC data viewable on phones and tablets as a standard capability of the platform rather than an optional add-on.