Echelon helps its customers take control of their systems. The company designs hardware and software that link and automate industrial equipment, building environments, and devices ranging from light switches to conveyor belts. Its open-source operating system, LonWorks, lets equipment interact through local networks and the Internet. Echelon's hardware -- transceivers, routers, network interfaces -- can sense, monitor, and control such equipment as automatic doors, security systems, and railcars. The company also provides an automated electricity metering system called Networked Energy Services (NES), sold primarily to electric utilities.