The idea behind Industry 4.0 is to connect human resources, data, and physical machines in a cyber-physical network. Physical assets such as smart robots will adhere to common standards, enabling flexible pre-configuration on-the-fly and modular replacement of resources. A key component of the concept is the ‘Internet of Things’, which will establish intelligent machine-to-machine connectivity within and beyond company walls.
One of the key benefits of Industry 4.0 is that it best addresses the increasing need for individualised products, while dramatically improving productivity and lead times. On the other hand, large investments in the introduction of multiple new technologies will be required. For example, Cloud-based data management and advanced analytics are fundamental components, as full system integration will lead to enormous data volumes that need to be analysed and shared across the virtualised value chain.
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