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WHAT IS INDUSTRY 4.0

 

Industry 4.0 introduces what has been called the “smart factory,” in which cyber-physical systems monitor the physical processes of the factory and make decentralized decisions. The physical systems become Internet of Things, communicating and cooperating both with each other and with humans in real time via the wireless web.

For a factory or system to be considered Industry 4.0, it must include:

• Interoperability — machines, devices, sensors and people that connect and communicate with one another.

• Information transparency — the systems create a virtual copy of the physical world through sensor data in order to contextualize information.

• Technical assistance — both the ability of the systems to support humans in making decisions and solving problems and the ability to assist humans with tasks that are too difficult or unsafe for humans.

• Decentralized decision-making — the ability of cyber-physical systems to make simple decisions on their own and become as autonomous as possible.