Maybe not the apocryphal Forth washing machine controller, but components used in automation often employ web servers for remote configuration and statistics. I

Maybe not the apocryphal Forth washing machine controller, but components used in automation often employ web servers for remote configuration and statistics. If it isn't a PLC (although there are some devices that basically mix a small embedded RT PC with a PLC). Connect to the device via ethernet, and the device then communicates with a machine through some kind of bus. If you've got wifi/ethernet, configuration through web servers comes naturally.