What Is Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 (i4.0) is the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. It includes cyber-physical systems (CPS), the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing.

Industry 4.0 creates what has been called a "smart factory". Within the modular structured smart factories, cyber-physical systems monitor physical processes, create a virtual copy of the physical world and make decentralized decisions. Over the Internet of Things, cyber-physical systems communicate and cooperate with each other and with humans in real time, and via the Internet of Services, both internal and cross-organizational services are offered and used by participants of the value chain.

Smart factories, which will be at the heart of Industry 4.0, will take on board information and communication technology for an evolution in the supply chain and production line that brings a much higher level of both automation and digitisation. It means machines using self-optimisation, self-configuration and even artificial intelligence (AI) to complete complex tasks in order to deliver vastly superior cost efficiencies and better quality goods or services.

5 things you need to know about Industry 4.0:

• The need for Change• Performance, not products• Information control, not gathering• Integration of hardware ecosystems using software integration• Data analytics