A brief overview of the fourth industrial revolution
If you’re a Charlie Chaplin fan like me, you must have seen his movie titled “Modern Times” which came out in 1936. Outside of his commentary on the effects of industrialization on society, this satire of the machine age gave me a glimpse into what a typical production unit looks like. I carried that idea in my head for a while until my recent visit to an automobile factory where it was robots galore with white lights shining on pristine assembly lines and mechanized arms swiftly screwing together intricate components of robust parts.
This clear shift from the clunky factory setup that once existed to an efficient “smart factory” is indicative of a multi-faceted industrial revolution spanning across centuries.
What is the meaning of Industry 4.0?
While Industry 1.0 and Industry 2.0 were driven primarily by the emergence of machines and humankind’s ability to produce goods on a large scale, Industry 3.0 was a pivotal juncture that brought computers into play and kickstarted the journey of automation.
A few decades later, Klaus Schwab, Founder and Chairperson of the World Economic Forum, penned a book titled “The Fourth Industrial Revolution” in which he spoke about modern technology blurring boundaries between digital, physical, and biological worlds and thus birthed the term “Industry 4.0”.
Put simply, the fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0 is a trend encompassing automation and data exchange in manufacturing units to facilitate communication within systems with modern technologies such as cyber physical systems (CPS), Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and artificial intelligence (AI).
What are the technologies behind Industry 4.0?
With acceleration as its primary goal, Industry 4.0 chalks out a framework to revolutionize manufacturing processes using the following foundational technologies:
- Connectivity and computation- Includes data collection with sensors and processing and managing data with technologies such as cloud computing, IoT, Blockchain, etc.
- Analytics- Emulating human intelligence with technologies such as machine learning and AI to derive meaningful insights.
- Man-machine interaction- Enhancing man-machine interactions with technologies such as robotic process automation (RPA), conversational AI, AR/VR, etc.
- Advanced engineering- Leveraging gained insights to close the loop by deploying advanced manufacturing techniques such as additive manufacturing, rapid prototyping, etc.
What are the benefits of Industry 4.0?
Industry 3.0 disrupted the existing production processes owing to the addition of a brand-new technology. As Industry 4.0 unfolds, we’re seeing machines deftly communicate with each other and gearing up to mitigate human intervention.
As these machines get access to more data, our smart factories will get more efficient and less wasteful. Here’s how jumping onboard the Industry 4.0 train (a smart one, mind you, not a steam powered one!) will benefit your business:
- Organizations can leverage Industry 4.0 to do more with less and avail improved productivity and efficiency with better resource allocation, automatic tracking and reporting, and less wastage.
- Businesses can use sensor data to check on manufacturing processes across the shop floor in real time and compare it with a digital twin to determine any scope for improvement.
- Smart factories can avail the benefit of improved agility and flexibility since it is easier to add new products to the existing production line and create fantastic opportunities for high mix low volume (HMLV) manufacturing, one-off manufacturing, etc.
- Manufacturers can monitor machine health using sensors to avoid break downs and failures on the shop floor and take any preventive/corrective measures as needed.
- While typical manufacturing units run in silos, smart factories facilitate machine to machine and system to system communication that allows improved collaboration between business processes and production lines.
Industry 4.0 encourages you to start with data and then add AI. It brings with it unprecedented speed and scale to help you make incredible data-driven decisions. With a smarter approach to operations, you can easily integrate more assets into your workflows and shift your focus towards uncovering what matters- right insights!
What’s next?
Today Industry 4.0 focuses on amalgamating various smart technologies to prioritize process automation and mitigate human involvement. However, we’re also simultaneously seeing a rapid emergence of the next tier of industrial revolution- Industry 5.0.
This highly anticipated next step aims to leverage the collaboration between the creative potential of humans and the stellar accuracy of machines to effectively transform the productive, economic, and commercial outputs of factories!
Want to gauge the modernization scope for your business? Reach out to us at Nitor Infotech to see how you too can revolutionize your workflows and business processes with cutting-edge technologies today!
