--- title: "Connect to machines and devices" slug: "connect-to-hardware" status: "update" updated: 2026-04-10T19:42:33Z published: 2026-04-10T19:42:52Z canonical: "support.tulip.co/connect-to-hardware" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.tulip.co/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Connect to machines and devices ## Overview You will learn: * The value proposition of connecting your Tulip solution to machines and devices. * An overview of the various connectivity options. * An overview of the common approach for large-scale implementations (OT Gateway with an {{glossary.MQTT}} broker or {{glossary.OPC UA}} server). * A decision tree that recommends the appropriate connectivity option per use case. ## Why should you connect machines and devices to your Tulip solution? 1. **Augment the human experience** * Allow your operators to work with devices within arm's reach. * Allow your operators to get information from devices outside of arm's reach. 2. **Improve availability**: monitor shop floor machines to provide insight into their state, OEE, etc... 3. **Improve performance**: accelerate time to capture data. 4. **Improve quality**: mitigate human errors in data entry. 5. **Contextualize data** from machines and devices with human-centric context. ## Options to connect your Tulip solution to machines and devices The diagram below shows at high-level the various options with which you can connect your Tulip instance to machines and devices. Following this diagram we will go into further detail on each of the four options. ![2025 Tulip - Connectivity to Machines & Devices \(3\).svg](https://cdn.document360.io/7c6ff534-cad3-4fc8-9583-912c4016362f/Images/Documentation/2025%20Tulip%20-%20Connectivity%20to%20Machines%20&%20Devices%20%283%29.svg){height="" width=""} ### 1. Tulip Player Drivers Tulip Player has built-in drivers for many common devices (e.g. barcode scanners, Zebra label printers, serial devices, etc...). These drivers are not dependent on connectivity to the Tulip platform in the cloud and have low latency. A full current list of drivers supported in Tulip Player can be seen at '[Edge Driver support In Tulip](/r230/docs/edge-driver-support-in-tulip)' #### [Plug and play devices](/r230/docs/list-of-plug-and-play-devices-that-work-with-tulip) These devices directly connect to computers running the {{glossary.Tulip Player}}. ### 2. Tulip Edge Driver SDK When the other paths are not practical options and you need to integrate specialized devices not natively supported by Tulip, or you've developed custom hardware specifically for your workflow, custom Edge drivers are an option via the Tulip Edge Driver SDK. Learn more about this option [in the Edge Driver SDK article here](/r230/docs/edge-driver-sdk). ### 2. [Edge Devices](/r230/docs/edge-devices) Use an {{glossary.Edge Device}} to connect to hardware that isn’t natively supported on Player, to connect a mobile player through an the device, or to communicate with devices that aren’t within reach of your operator. Many devices are supported with [built-in drivers](/r230/docs/device-driver-support-in-tulip). In addition, Edge devices run Node-RED natively, providing a flexible and stable environment. Read [here](https://support.tulip.co/docs/edge-device-use-cases) for additional use cases and [here](https://support.tulip.co/docs/manage-edge-devices) for how to manage Edge devices. There are two different types of Tulip Edge Devices: #### [Edge IO](/r230/docs/edge-io) Edge IO allows you to connect to hardware through digital input/ouputs, analog inputs, legacy serial (RS242/RS485), USB, and network(LAN and WAN). #### [Edge MC](/r230/docs/edgemc) Edge MC allows you to connect to hardware through analog inputs, USB, and network (LAN and WAN). ### 4. [OT Gateway](/r230/docs/machine-monitoring) (MQTT or OPC UA Machine Data Sources) This approach is the most common for enterprise-level large-scale connectivity. The diagram below shows, at a high-level, how a shop floor machine would be connected to Tulip via an OT gateway with an MQTT broker. ![MQTT Setup v2.svg](https://cdn.document360.io/7c6ff534-cad3-4fc8-9583-912c4016362f/Images/Documentation/MQTT%20Setup%20v2.svg){height="" width=""} #### OT gateway with MQTT broker architecture summary This architecture (as seen in the image above) consists of: * [Tulip Machines](/r230/docs/set-up-your-first-machine) * Machine Types * Machine Attributes - mapped to MQTT topics * [MQTT Machine Data Source](/r230/docs/build-your-first-mqtt-connector) * MQTT Broker (note: Tulip currently does not support Sparkplug B) * e.g. [HiveMQ MQTT Broker](https://www.hivemq.com/products/mqtt-broker/){target=`_blank`}, [Litmus UNS](https://litmus.io/litmus-uns){target=`_blank`}, [Mosquito](https://mosquitto.org/){target=`_blank`} * [DataOps Platform](/r230/docs/dataops-platform-merits-tulip-machine-monitoring) (Optionally) * e.g. [Litmus Edge](https://litmus.io/litmus-edge){target=`_blank`} or [HighByte](https://www.highbyte.com/){target=`_blank`} * Driver platform * e.g. [Litmus Edge](https://litmus.io/litmus-edge){target=`_blank`}, [Kepware KepServerEX](https://www.ptc.com/en/products/kepware/kepserverex){target=`_blank`} ### [Node-RED](/r230/docs/node-red) Tulip is compatible with the free, open source [Node-RED tool](https://nodered.org/), which allows you to write flows and handle devices that have an analog input, don’t have a driver built, or need data processing before coming into Tulip. You can use Tulip's written and published [nodes for interfacing with the Tulip Machine and Tables APIs](https://flows.nodered.org/node/@tulip/node-red-tulip-api){target=`_blank`}. ## Decide which connectivity option to use Use the decision tree below to understand which connectivity option you should use. ![Update Machines & Devices Decision Tree \(1\).png](https://cdn.document360.io/7c6ff534-cad3-4fc8-9583-912c4016362f/Images/Documentation/Update%20Machines%20&%20Devices%20Decision%20Tree%20%281%29.png){height="" width=""} ## Further reading * [Tulip Solution Architecture Fundamentals](/r230/docs/tulip-solution-architecture-fundamentals) * [Architecture Fundamentals of Integrating Tulip to a Transactional Business System](/r230/docs/architecture-fundamentals-of-integrating-tulip-to-a-transactional-business-system)