If you’re researching machine monitoring platforms, MachineMetrics should be on your list. They’re the most well-known name in the space, particularly in CNC machining. They’ve raised over $30 million in venture funding and they’ve connected thousands of machines. RoboVigil is smaller, newer, and takes a fundamentally different approach to the same problem. This post sets out what each platform does, how they differ, and which one makes sense depending on what your factory actually needs.
At a glance
| Aspect | RoboVigil | MachineMetrics |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware required | None | Edge devices + optional tablets/displays |
| Deployment | Remote software setup, same day | Edge device installation, weeks to months |
| Focus | Monitoring + alerting | MES + production operations |
| Camera feeds | Yes | No |
| Mobile-first | Yes — native iOS, Android, Amazon | Web app + mobile |
| Pricing | £150/machine/month, all-in | Custom quote |
| Best fit | Mixed fleets, remote oversight, multi-site | CNC-heavy shops, MES workflows |
What MachineMetrics does
MachineMetrics is a US-based platform founded in 2014, headquartered in Easthampton, Massachusetts. They started in CNC machine monitoring and have expanded into what they now call an “Intelligent MES” — combining machine monitoring with production scheduling, work order management, OEE analytics, and ERP integration.
Their platform connects to machines via proprietary edge devices — physical hardware gateways that sit on your factory network. For wireless connections, each machine gets its own edge device. For wired setups, a single edge device installed in a server room can handle up to 50 machines. The edge device collects data from machine controllers via protocols including MTConnect, Fanuc FOCAS, OPC-UA, UMATI, Modbus, and Ethernet/IP, then streams it to their cloud on AWS.
MachineMetrics has strong CNC coverage. They claim connectivity to over 1,000 machine controller types, and their sweet spot is discrete manufacturing — machine shops, aerospace subcontractors, medical device manufacturers running rows of CNC mills and lathes. Their platform includes operator tablets at each machine for downtime categorisation and job tracking, plus large-format TV displays for shopfloor dashboards.
They’re a serious, well-funded product with genuine traction in the US market. That matters, because a fair comparison starts with acknowledging what they do well.
What RoboVigil does
RoboVigil is a software-only monitoring platform built by Hagen Automation in Bedford, UK. There is no hardware to install — no edge devices, no sensors, no tablets. It connects directly to your machines over the network using the protocols they already speak: OPC-UA, MQTT, Universal Robots RTDE, ABB Robot Web Services. It also connects to IP cameras for live visual monitoring of the shopfloor.
When a machine faults or enters an abnormal state, RoboVigil sends a push notification straight to your phone — not to a tablet bolted to a wall that nobody is standing in front of. That notification includes the fault data from the machine and, if cameras are configured, a snapshot of the machine at the time of the fault. A maintenance engineer can see what went wrong, see the machine, and make a decision about whether to drive in — all from a phone notification, without logging into anything.
For robots specifically, RoboVigil pulls detailed fault and diagnostic data directly from the controller. With a Universal Robots cobot, that means safety status, program state, joint positions, protective stop reasons, and error codes — via the native RTDE, Dashboard Server, and Primary Interface protocols. On an ABB IRC5, it’s program state, motion data, and error logs pulled directly from Robot Web Services. On a FANUC robot via OPC-UA, it’s alarm history, cycle data, and program status. That’s the actual diagnostic information an engineer needs to understand the fault before they reach the machine.
Connectivity uses the factory’s existing router with a WireGuard VPN tunnel. No hardware is shipped to site, no cabinets are opened, no machines are taken offline to install anything. If your machine has an OPC-UA server or MQTT broker running, RoboVigil connects to it remotely and starts reading data.
RoboVigil is not an MES. It doesn’t do production scheduling, work order management, or ERP integration. It does machine monitoring and alerting — machine state, fault codes, cycle data, camera feeds, and push notifications to your phone when something needs attention. Native apps on iOS, Android, and Amazon Appstore. £150 per machine per month, every feature included, no per-user fees.
Deployment: hardware, IT, and speed
MachineMetrics deployments involve edge hardware installed per machine or per group of machines depending on the network architecture. Their documentation specifies minimum hardware of an x86 processor, 4GB RAM, and 32GB storage per device. A virtual edge option exists for running on your own server infrastructure. Either way, there’s a physical project: hardware procurement and shipping (from the US), network preparation, installation, device activation, and protocol configuration per machine. Their getting-started guide references a Solutions Delivery Manager for advanced integrations. IT involvement is significant — firewall configuration, network segmentation, edge device management, and provisioning of operator tablets and shopfloor displays all need attention. For a multi-site rollout, expect weeks to months.
RoboVigil has no hardware component. Connectivity uses a WireGuard VPN on the factory’s existing router — a single configuration file, outbound-only traffic, no inbound ports opened. The software then connects directly to machines over the network via their existing OPC-UA, MQTT, or native protocol endpoints. There are no edge devices to ship, mount, cable, or maintain. No tablets to provision. No IT project beyond the VPN configuration, which most factory routers handle natively.
With RoboVigil a subcontract machine shop with 12 CNCs and 3 robots can typically be monitoring machines the same day without opening a single cabinet. A 20-machine site and a single-machine trial have identical deployment complexity — the limiting factor is network configuration, not hardware.
Pricing
MachineMetrics does not publish public pricing. Deployments are typically quoted following consultation, and costs can include software licensing, edge hardware, operator tablets, network infrastructure, and onboarding services depending on the deployment size and feature set.
RoboVigil is £150 per machine per month. That’s the price. No hardware costs because there’s no hardware. No setup fees. No tiered features — every machine gets every feature. No per-user charges. No minimum contract beyond monthly. For 50 machines, that’s £7,500 per month or £90,000 per year, with zero upfront capital expenditure.
Protocol and machine support
MachineMetrics lists a lot of protocols: MTConnect, Fanuc FOCAS, OPC-UA, UMATI, Modbus, and Ethernet/IP. Their claim of 1,000+ controller types is largely based on CNC machines — they were purpose-built for machine shops. Worth noting that MTConnect and UMATI are both effectively flavours of OPC-UA. Listing them separately makes the protocol list look longer, but any platform that connects to OPC-UA handles all three.
RoboVigil connects via OPC-UA (including MTConnect and UMATI endpoints), MQTT, native connectors for Universal Robots and ABB IRC5 robots, plus FANUC robots via OPC-UA. It also adds IP camera integration for visual monitoring — something MachineMetrics doesn’t offer.
Scope: monitoring vs MES
MachineMetrics has grown into an MES. They offer production scheduling, work order management, job tracking with ERP sync, operator dashboards at each machine, and AI-driven analytics. If you need a system that ties your ERP to the shopfloor, manages work orders, and tracks labour against jobs, MachineMetrics aims to be that system.
RoboVigil is monitoring and alerting. It tells you what your machines are doing, shows you live camera feeds, alerts you when something goes wrong, and gives you the data to understand why. It doesn’t schedule production, manage work orders, or sync with your ERP.
That’s a deliberate design decision. Many factories don’t need an MES. They need to know when a machine has faulted at 2am, what the fault code was, and whether the line is still running. They need to see cycle times drifting before they miss a delivery. They need a maintenance engineer to get a phone alert and a camera view without driving to site. RoboVigil does this without the complexity, cost, and deployment timeline of an MES platform. If you’re weighing whether you need monitoring at all, read RoboVigil vs Doing Nothing — the cost of unmonitored downtime is almost always higher than you think.
Mobile and remote access
This is where the two platforms differ most in philosophy.
MachineMetrics is designed around the control room and the operator station — dashboards on shopfloor TVs, tablets at machines, with remote access as an additional capability. Their mobile apps exist, but the product assumes someone is standing at the machine or sitting in a production office watching a screen.
RoboVigil is designed around the person who isn’t at the factory. The owner driving between sites. The maintenance engineer at home on a Saturday. The operations manager reviewing three sites from an office. Push notifications go to your phone with fault data and camera snapshots attached — you see what happened, why, and what the machine looks like right now, without opening an app or logging into a dashboard. The question is simple: do I need to go in?
For factories running unattended shifts or lights-out production, the combination of push alerts, fault diagnostics, and live camera feeds means problems get caught in minutes rather than discovered the next morning.
Who should choose what
Choose MachineMetrics if you run a CNC-heavy shop in the US, you want a platform that will grow into a full MES, you have IT support for edge device deployment and network management, and your budget can absorb the hardware investment and higher per-machine costs. MachineMetrics is a mature, well-funded platform with strong CNC expertise.
Choose RoboVigil if you want to start monitoring quickly without a hardware project, you run a mixed fleet of robots and machines across different manufacturers, you need remote and mobile monitoring as a primary use case rather than an afterthought, you want a simple pricing model with no hardware costs or hidden fees, you don’t need an MES — you need monitoring and alerting that works without the overhead, or you prefer a UK-based platform with UK-based support.
For factories that already have a SCADA system or MES and want to add lightweight cloud-based remote monitoring alongside it, RoboVigil slots in without conflicting. For factories that have nothing and want a single platform to run their entire production operation, MachineMetrics is aiming to be that platform — at a corresponding price point and deployment commitment. If you’re also evaluating UK-based alternatives, see RoboVigil vs FourJaw for a comparison of two very different approaches to the same problem.
Try it yourself
RoboVigil has a live demo factory you can explore right now — real software, simulated machines, working camera feeds. Download the app from the App Store, Google Play, or Amazon Appstore and log in to see what monitoring looks like before you commit a penny. Or sign up at robovigil.com and connect your first real machine in under an hour.