#node red

Case Details

Prerequisites

Before proceeding with the installation, ensure you have the following:

NodeJS Version – The Device Agent requires Node.js 18 or later.

Operating System/Image – It can be installed on most Linux distributions, Windows, and MacOS, or via the provided Docker image. (Most ARMxy series industrial edge gateways can be installed)

BLIIOT ARMxy BL340 – A functioning device with internet access.

FlowFuse Account - Ensure you have a FlowFuse account. If not, you can create a free account that allows you to manage up to two edge devices for free. For more information, refer to FlowFuse Free Tier

Sudo Privileges – Administrator access to install required packages.

Getting Started

This guide explores how to install and run Node-RED through the FlowFuse Device Agent on the BLIIOT ARMxy BL340, enabling you to build, manage, and scale Node-RED flows efficiently from a remote location.

Installing FlowFuse Device Agent

Before we start, it is recommended to update and upgrade your system to ensure all your packages are up to date:sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Next, let's install the FlowFuse device agent with the following script.bash <(curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FlowFuse/device-agent/main/service/raspbian-install-device-agent.sh)

This script installs the Node.js runtime (if not already installed), sets up the FlowFuse device agent, and configures the device to automatically run the FlowFuse agent on boot and restart it in case of a crash.

To verify that the service is running, use the following command:sudo systemctl status flowfuse-device-agent.service

Registering the Device to Connect to FlowFuse

Once you have installed the FlowFuse Device Agent, you need to register the hardware to connect it to your FlowFuse team.

For instructions on how to register the hardware with your FlowFuse team, follow the documentation: Register your Remote Instance.

When registering your hardware, you will be presented with a dialog containing a one-time passcode command that the Device Agent uses to retrieve its configuration. Make sure to copy it.

Connecting Device

Execute the command you have copied with sudo as shown belowsudo flowfuse-device-agent -o <insert-your-three-word-token> https://app.flowfuse.com

Once executed, you should see an output similar to the one below, indicating that the FlowFuse Device Agent has been successfully configured:[AGENT] 3/21/2025 7:09:25 PM [info] Entering Device setup... [AGENT] 3/21/2025 7:09:27 PM [info] Device setup was successful [AGENT] 3/21/2025 7:09:27 PM [info] To start the Device Agent with the new configuration, run the following command: [AGENT] 3/21/2025 7:09:27 PM [info] flowfuse-device-agent

Now, when your device reboots, the FlowFuse Device Agent will automatically start, ensuring that your BLIIOT ARMxy BL340 remains connected to the FlowFuse platform.

Accessing Node-RED Editor.

Login into your FlowFuse account.

Click on the remote instances option in the left sidebar.

Click on the device and enable the developer mode by clicking on the top right-corner switch.

Once Developer Mode is enabled, click on the Open Editor option located next to the that switch.

With the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT), how to quickly build an efficient, reliable and low-cost system has become a core challenge facing the industry. The solution consisting of the ARMxy Industrial Edge Gateway, the Node-RED low-code platform and the ThingsBoard IoT platform can meet 99% of the IoT scenario requirements with its flexibility, development efficiency and comprehensive functions. Whether it is industrial automation, smart agriculture, or smart cities, this combination has demonstrated strong adaptability. The following analyzes its advantages from three aspects: hardware, development tools and platforms.

ARMxy: Combined Industrial Edge Gateway, flexible hardware selection to meet different project requirements

As the "nerve endings" of the IoT system, the performance and reliability of the hardware acquisition module are crucial. Through the flexible combination of X board and Y board, the ARMxy series can support tens of thousands of IO interface configurations, including RS485, RS232, CAN, Ethernet port, analog/digital input and output, thermal resistance, etc., covering almost all access requirements of industrial sensors and equipment.

Its multi-level configuration strategy (high/medium/low configuration) further optimizes the cost: the high-profile version is suitable for industrial scenarios with many data points and strict real-time requirements; while the medium and low-profile versions can meet lightweight requirements such as agricultural monitoring or small environmental monitoring. In addition, ARMxy adopts industrial-grade design, with dustproof, vibration-resistant, wide temperature operation and other characteristics, ensuring long-term stable operation in harsh environments, laying the foundation for the reliability of the Internet of Things system.

Node-RED: Low-code development, opening up the "highway" of data flow

Node-RED, with its visual drag-and-drop programming and rich protocol support, has become a key bridge connecting hardware and the cloud.

Full coverage of protocols: Built-in Modbus, Siemens PLC protocol, power industry DL/T645 and other industrial protocol nodes, easily connect to various devices; uplink supports MQTT and HTTP, seamlessly integrates mainstream cloud platforms such as Alibaba Cloud and AWS.

Edge computing capabilities: Through custom nodes or plug-in extensions, data can be pre-processed (such as filtering and compression), reducing cloud bandwidth pressure and improving system efficiency.

Rapid development: Non-professional developers can also build data collection, processing and transmission logic by dragging nodes, greatly shortening the development cycle, especially suitable for prototype verification and agile iteration.

ThingsBoard: An all-round platform for refined management of data and devices

As an open source IoT platform, ThingsBoard provides one-stop services from data storage to visualization:

Real-time monitoring and visualization: Through custom dashboards, users can intuitively view device status and generate dynamic charts or reports, such as temperature curves of factory equipment and heat maps of urban traffic flow.

Large-scale device management: Supports batch access, remote control and OTA upgrades of thousands of devices to meet industrial-grade scenario requirements.

Highly scalable: Open source features allow developers to customize functional modules according to business needs, such as integrating AI algorithms to achieve predictive maintenance.

ARMxy + Node-RED + ThingsBoard synergistic advantages release the potential of the IoT

The combination of ARMxy, Node-RED and ThingsBoard builds a complete closed loop from hardware to cloud:

Seamless collaboration: ARMxy is responsible for data collection, Node-RED performs edge processing and protocol conversion, ThingsBoard realizes centralized management and visualization, and the three form an efficient data flow.

Extreme cost optimization: ARMxy's flexible configuration reduces hardware costs, and the open source features of Node-RED and ThingsBoard eliminate software licensing fees. The overall solution cost is only 1/3 of the traditional solution.

Full coverage of scenarios: Industrial production lines, farmland environmental monitoring, urban infrastructure management and other scenarios can be quickly adapted to meet 99% of the Internet of Things needs.

Rapid deployment: Node-RED's low-code development and ThingsBoard's ready-to-use functions can compress project cycles from months to weeks.

Conclusion: The future of IoT begins with an efficient tool combination

The golden combination of ARMxy + Node-RED + ThingsBoard not only solves the compatibility problem in the fragmented IoT scenario, but also becomes the preferred solution for enterprise digital transformation through its advantages of low cost, high flexibility and rapid implementation. Whether it is a startup team or a large enterprise, this combination can help them seize the initiative in the IoT wave and truly realize the vision of "Internet of Everything".

Introduction

In the wave of Industry 4.0 and digital transformation, how to quickly realize device interconnection, data collection and automatic control has become the core demand of various industries. The powerful combination of ARMxy series industrial-grade ARM computers and Node-RED visual programming tools provides a set of flexible, efficient and low-code solutions for industrial Internet of Things, agriculture, energy storage, smart cities and other fields. This article will start from the actual application scenarios and analyze how this combination enables the intelligent upgrade of multiple industries.

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1. Industrial IoT : Multi-protocol interconnection and cloud integration

Pain points: Factory equipment is multi-source and heterogeneous, PLC, sensors, etc. use different communication protocols, and data island problems are prominent.

Solution:

ARMxy connects field equipment through RS485, CAN, Ethernet and other interfaces, supports mainstream industrial protocols such as Modbus RTU/TCP, OPC, MQTT, and realizes real-time data collection.

Node-RED has a built-in 5000+ protocol library, which can quickly complete protocol conversion and upload data to cloud platforms such as Alibaba Cloud and AWS IoT through visual process orchestration.

Benefits: Break data islands, realize equipment interconnection, cloud storage and analysis, and provide data support for predictive maintenance and production optimization.

2. Protocol conversion: seamless collaboration across brands of equipment

Pain points: Incompatible protocols of equipment from different manufacturers in industrial environments, low collaboration efficiency.

Solution:

Node-RED automatically converts data formats through protocol libraries (such as Siemens PLC and Mitsubishi CNC protocols), and ARMxy provides hardware interface support to achieve data interoperability between PLCs and instruments.

Benefits: Reduce integration complexity, improve equipment collaboration efficiency, and reduce development cycles and costs.

3. Agricultural planting: environmental perception and automated management

Pain point: Traditional planting relies on manual monitoring, and environmental regulation lags behind.

Solution:

ARMxy connects temperature, humidity, light, and soil sensors to collect environmental data in real time.

Node-RED automatically triggers irrigation, ventilation, and lighting equipment according to preset rules (such as soil moisture thresholds), and remote monitoring is achieved through 4G/Wi-Fi.

Benefits: Accurately control the crop growth environment to improve yield and resource utilization.

4. Smart Farming: Environmental Control and Precision Feeding

Pain Points: The farm environment fluctuates greatly and manual management is inefficient.

Solution:

ARMxy connects to CO₂ sensors and temperature control equipment to monitor the farming environment in real time.

Node-RED controls the fan and heater through the DI/DO interface, and links the feeding system to automatically feed according to time or environmental conditions.

Benefits: Ensure the stability of the farming environment, reduce the risk of epidemics, and improve production efficiency.

5. Energy storage system: full life cycle monitoring and safety control

Pain points: Insufficient monitoring of battery pack status (such as SOC, SOH) poses safety risks.

Solution:

ARMxy collects battery voltage, temperature and other data through the CAN bus, and Node-RED analyzes and sets threshold alarms in real time (such as high temperature triggering the cooling system).

After uploading the data to the cloud, the charging and discharging strategy can be adjusted remotely or an emergency shutdown can be initiated.

Benefits: Extend battery life and improve the safety and operation efficiency of the energy storage system.

6. Smart City: Intelligent Operation and Maintenance of Infrastructure

Pain Points: Urban facilities (such as street lights and charging piles) are widely distributed and have high maintenance costs.

Solution:

ARMxy connects smart street lights and charging piles to collect equipment status and energy consumption data.

Node-RED automatically adjusts street light brightness or signal light duration according to time, traffic flow and other parameters, and realizes automatic fault alarm.

Benefits: Optimize resource scheduling, reduce energy consumption, and improve urban management response speed.

Summary: Flexible and efficient, empowering industry upgrades

The combination of ARMxy and Node-RED has become an industry intelligence tool with three core advantages:

Multi-interface compatibility: supports rich interfaces such as RS485, CAN, 4G, etc., and adapts to complex industrial environments.

Low-code development: Node-RED visual programming greatly reduces the development threshold and shortens the project cycle.

Cloud collaboration: seamlessly connect to mainstream cloud platforms to achieve data aggregation and remote control.

Whether it is industrial protocol conversion, agricultural precision regulation, or energy storage safety management and urban smart operation and maintenance, this combination can promote the transformation of traditional industries to intelligence and automation in an efficient and low-cost way. In the future, as more industry scenarios are explored, ARMxy and Node-RED will continue to release their potential and become the core engine of digital transformation.

NXP i.MX8M Mini Quad-core 64-bit processor, 2GB DDR4 RAM Supports LINUX, Ubuntu, Debian; Node-Red, QT, Python, C++; MySQL, InfluxDB, SQLite, Docker, Ignition, Eclipse, etc.