Next-generation smart products are complex systems of systems that make current development processes inadequate. Industry 4.0 is the answer to digital disruption in the manufacturing industry.
Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 is a concept that originated in Germany (where it is known as "Industrie 4.0") and is often used to describe data-driven, AI-powered, networked “smart factories” as the harbingers of the fourth industrial revolution. This predicted transition of manufacturing processes and technologies is based on these core principles:
- The pervasive networking of people, machines and “things” in physical and virtual realms (i.e. the Internet of Things)
- Leveraging data through tools and systems that expose the data's value to drive production efficiency and flexibility (i.e. digital transformation)
- Increasing product quality and improving speed-to-market through pre-production virtual testing
- AI-assisted and data-driven planning, production, manufacturing, and maintenance
What is Industry 4.0?
Smart Factory Technology
Industry 4.0 has no generally agreed upon definition, but concepts frequently associated with it include the Internet of Things (IoT), additive manufacturing, digitalization and integration of data and workflows, remote monitoring, multi-disciplinary engineering, and automation of controls through machine learning and predictive analytics.