Industry 4.0 is a term used to describe the fourth industrial revolution, which is characterized by the integration of the "internet of things" into the manufacturing process.

 

This revolution builds on the previous three industrial revolutions, which were mechanization (Industry 1.0), mass production (Industry 2.0), and automation (Industry 3.0).

 

The goal of Industry 4.0 is to take all individual processes performed by factory machines and import them to the cloud for remote management.

 

This involves using both cloud computing and the internet of things (IoT) move processes that are being managed internally by people and machines to the cloud, where they can be managed from any place in the world. Industry 4.0 technologies have the potential to create extraordinary growth opportunities and competitive advantages for businesses. In fact, businesses can increase their productivity by about 30% using Industry 4.0. Smart machines, production facilities, products, and services are all part of Industry 4.0, which allows for flexible and efficient production processes. Smart machines, for example, share information with one another, organize themselves on their own, and work together to coordinate processes and deadlines.

 

They communicate directly with all of the IT systems in the company, enabling a flow of information to areas such as sales or development. In smart factories, people still play a critical role in the production process as augmented operators who control and monitor production sequences in the production network.

 

IT-based assistance systems such as data glasses can virtually extend an augmented operator’s view of a real factory.

 

Smart products, on the other hand, hold data about operating conditions and product statuses, which is stored on things like tiny RFID chips.

 

This data provides a virtual copy of each smart product, and it is collected, updated, and evaluated throughout the life of the product as needed, from the first stage of production to actual customer use and all the way to recycling.

 

Finally, Industry 4.0 is not limited to factories, as intelligent products do more than actively control their own production process. Once delivered to a customer, they serve as a platform for new business models.

 

In the future, there will be billions of intelligent products that are connected to the internet throughout their useful life, and they will save huge quantities of data (big data) about their own operating conditions and product statuses in the cloud.

 

All that data they have collected can be used to optimize products. Smart algorithms can link existing data to new information (smart data), providing a foundation for offering customers personalized, data-based services (smart services) in addition to the physical product.

 

For instance, operators of diagnostic devices can collect and analyze data about all of the devices being operated in the area they are responsible for and use it to generate new services, such as possible diagnoses.