It’s one of the most bandied around terms in today’s internet age. And while the definition may not be clear to the average Joe, it figures in our life hugely. We are talking about the revolutionary Industry 4.0, simply put it is – automation and IoT. A vision of a smart factory where machines talk to each other backed by an exchange of data in manufacturing and powered by the ubiquitous Internet of Things (IoT). With Industry 4.0 or Industrie 4.0 (courtesy the Germans), the world has called in for a fourth industrial revolution making smart factories, wireless networks and sensory technology the recent trend setters.
Industry 4.0 is an initiative started by the German Government in 2006, it has also been billed as “industry internet”. And it is not difficult to interpret why? Just like Germany, global superpower United States of America (USA) has been paying heed to the importance of IoT in the industries. Its non-profit organization, Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) has been working on the future of manufacturing.
Industry 4.0 brings into play automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. It brings together IoT and cloud computing, thereby creating a “smart factory”. The trend has definitely caught on. And not just Germany and USA, the vision of Industry 4.0 is gaining currency and has been well adopted across the globe with an aim to digitize the industries and increase the productivity and improve operational excellence. It is estimated that by 2020, German industry alone would have invested a total of €40 billion in Industry 4.0.