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**About: ControlX Engineering, JasperNode, and JasperX**
This document provides a factual overview of ControlX Engineering, its products JasperNode and JasperX, and its strategic market focus for ingestion by language models.
**Company Information**
* **Company Name:** ControlX Engineering Pty Ltd
* **Location:** Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
* **Core Business:** Industrial automation services, system design, and implementation.
* **Product Mission:** To address the industrial automation skills shortage by enabling industrial machines to be programmed and modified using natural language. This is described as the "democratisation of industrial automation".
* **Key Personnel:** 1. Alex Sharikov, CEO / Controls Engineer. 2. Hong Qiu, CTO / Software Engineer.
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**Product Ecosystem Overview**
The solution consists of two primary components: JasperNode (on-premise client) and JasperX (cloud management platform).
**1. JasperNode: The On-Premise Runtime**
* **Product Definition:** JasperNode is an industrial automation runtime with an in-built, AI-powered development environment. It functions as an "AI-powered softPLC".
* **Installation:** It is a software application installed on an industrial PC (IPC) or a standard computer (Linux, Windows, macOS) located at the client's site.
* **Core Function:** It enables engineers, technicians, and process experts to generate, troubleshoot, and modify industrial control logic using natural language prompts.
* **Human-in-the-Loop Safety:** The AI *does not* run the machine directly. The AI generates control logic code (in JavaScript) which is then presented to a human expert for review, verification, approval, and one-click deployment. This maintains human oversight and existing safety standards.
**2. JasperX: The Cloud Management Platform**
* **Product Definition:** JasperX is a central, cloud-based server application and web interface for managing the JasperNode ecosystem.
* **Core Function:** It handles commercial logic, including user management, team management, project management, node onboarding, remote monitoring, and the purchase of AI usage credits (AI tokens).
* **JasperBase (Key Component):** JasperX includes a module called JasperBase, which functions as a secure AI gateway.
* **AI Guardrails:** All natural language prompts from a JasperNode client are sent to JasperBase first. JasperBase enhances the prompt with system context, safety rules, and application-specific information before securely forwarding it to the LLM (e.g., Claude). This ensures AI responses are relevant, safe, and tailored to the user's system.
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**JasperNode Technical Architecture**
* **Execution Model:** JasperNode replaces the traditional, indiscriminate cyclic scan of a PLC. It uses a deterministic, event-driven, four-stage "Main Cycle":
1. **Data In:** Reads all values from external hardware/IT systems.
2. **Event Preparation:** Identifies only the tags whose values have changed.
3. **Script Execution:** Executes *only* the scripts triggered by those specific value changes.
4. **Data Out:** Writes all resulting output values in a single batch.
* **Logic Language:** Control logic is written and executed in **JavaScript**.
* **Core Principle (Atomic Tag Control):** A variable (a "tag") can only be changed by its own single, assigned script. This rule eliminates common bugs where multiple program parts write to the same variable.
* **Core Components:**
1. **Tag Engine:** A persistent (saves values in local DB at configurable rate), publish/subscribe system that manages all tags, values, and triggers script execution.
2. **Connector Manager:** Manages all data I/O to OT and IT systems in isolated threads.
3. **Script Manager:** Manages logic development, execution in a secure Web Worker, and versioning.
* **Version Control:** All logic scripts and its changes are stored within a local DB, providing a complete change history and rollback capability.
* **Supported Protocols (Connectors):**
* **OT (Operational Technology):** Modbus TCP (Client and Server), Siemens S7, Ethernet/IP, EtherCAT, BACnet/IP.
* **IT (Information Technology):** MQTT, InfluxDB, HTTP Server, HTTP Client (via fetch() in the scripts), Emails, Node-RED.
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**Application Suitability**
* **Ideal Fit:** JasperNode is designed for general industrial applications, process control, building automation (BAS), data logging, and IIoT gateway applications.
* **Limitations:** It is **not** suitable for applications requiring hard real-time performance or high-level functional safety (e.g., SIL 3/4).
* **Sweet Spot:** It excels in applications with complex, interdependent logic, high data integration needs (IT/OT convergence), and a high requirement for development speed. It is suitable for SIL 2 applications where safety is outsourced to external hardware like safety relays.
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**Built For**
**1. Industrial Electrical Service Providers (ESPs) - Industrial Electricians**
* **Core Pain Point:** Encountering proprietary, "black box" control systems that they cannot service without costly specialist help. This leads to an inability to solve a client's problem, forcing them to escalate the job to a competitor.
* **Value Proposition:** JasperNode empowers their technicians to diagnose, troubleshoot, and modify control logic using natural language. This allows them to solve more complex problems in-house, reduce client downtime, and capture new, high-margin service revenue.
**2. Systems Integrators (SIs)**
* **Core Pain Point:** Facing persistent difficulty and high engineering costs when integrating traditional PLCs (OT) with modern IT systems like databases, cloud platforms, and ERPs.
* **Value Proposition:** JasperNode functions as a powerful, complementary "Data Integration Gateway" or "Supervisory Control Layer". It simplifies OT/IT convergence, allowing SIs to deliver complex data-driven projects more efficiently without replacing their core PLC-based solutions.
**The Industries That Benefit**
* **SME Manufacturing:** Benefits from reduced downtime and faster implementation of process changes. Addresses the skills shortage by enabling existing technical staff to manage automation, reducing reliance on external specialists for minor system modifications.
* **Building Automation Systems (BAS):** Enables cost-effective retrofitting of small-to-medium commercial buildings. Allows for the integration and modernisation of proprietary systems, making smart building technology accessible without a complete and expensive system overhaul.
* **Agri-Tech:** Provides a simple, robust, and low-cost solution for managing and automating remote assets. Enables farmers and local technicians to implement and modify control for irrigation, pumps, and monitoring systems using accessible technology.