Machine-level historian upgrades to model context protocol

Real Time Automation's Roy Kok introduces next-gen flight recorder for PLCs
Sept. 9, 2026
2 min read
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Key Highlights

  • Real Time Automation’s updated industrial historian now supports the model context protocol (MCP), allowing artificial intelligence engines to directly query live and historical machine data.
  • The device acts as a high-fidelity "black box flight data recorder" for local PLC troubleshooting while down-sampling data to feed enterprise-level dashboards and analytics.
  • Broadened protocol support, including EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP and serial interfaces, enables the historian to aggregate data across both legacy and modern industrial equipment.

Roy Kok, VP of sales and marketing at Real Time Automation (RTA), presents the company's latest industrial historian—a compact, machine-level data logger designed to act as an edge-based "black box flight data recorder" for automated machinery (Figure 1). Connected directly to machine programmable logic controllers (PLCs) via built-in serial and Ethernet ports, the historian provides high-fidelity, real-time data capture right at the source, while seamless integration with RTA's gateway lineup allows it to aggregate data across a wide range of legacy and modern equipment.

Figure 1: Roy Kok, VP of sales and marketing, Real Time Automation (RTA)

Figure 1: Roy Kok, VP of sales and marketing, Real Time Automation (RTA)

A key highlight of the presentation is the software's expanding protocol support and modern connectivity features. In addition to supporting EtherNet/IP and newly added Modbus TCP communications, the historian incorporates the model context protocol (MCP) interface. This integration enables generative AI engines to directly query live and historical machine data, bridging the gap between local plant-floor operations and advanced artificial intelligence analytics.

Kok also outlines how the system operates within a broader hybrid enterprise network. By storing high-speed, high-resolution data locally for precise machine troubleshooting, the device can simultaneously feed down-sampled data upstream to enterprise-level historians. This dual approach allows plant managers to run high-level dashboards and facility-wide analytics at the corporate level without sacrificing the granular, high-fidelity data needed on the factory floor when diagnosing critical equipment issues.

About the Author

Mike Bacidore
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Mike Bacidore

Editor in Chief

Mike Bacidore is chief editor of Control Design and has been an integral part of the Endeavor Business Media editorial team since 2007. Previously, he was editorial director at Hughes Communications and a portfolio manager of the human resources and labor law areas at Wolters Kluwer. Bacidore holds a BA from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. He is an award-winning columnist, earning multiple regional and national awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors. He may be reached at [email protected] 

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