Requirements of Industry 4.0

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The Fourth Industrial Revolution is all about data, communication, and interconnectivity.

The goal of Industry 4.0 is to automate manufacturing through cyber-physical systems that collect, analyze, and communicate data between interconnected networks.

We will cover four requirements for achieving the automated data intelligence needed to achieve Industry 4.0.

Requirements of Industry 4.0
Smart Communication
Communication has advanced significantly over the last 200 years.

In America, mail systems like The Pony Express transported physical letters through a network of horses relaying mail across the country. The Pony Express was a lot faster than the old methods where letters slogged on wagon trains for weeks or months.

The invention of the telegraph turned the world upside down, bringing instant communication across hundreds of miles. Locomotives started carrying large amounts of information and documents by railway around the same time.

After the invention of the telephone, people were able to have conversations over long distances. Then came computer intranets. And finally, the expansion of connected intranets to the World Wide Web and the internet we use today.

Ever since the 1990s, the pace of data communication has increased exponentially.

Smart communication drives Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 is a communication and interconnectivity revolution. New technologies are finally making smart communication possible. Instead of humans communicating and analyzing data with some help from machines, smart devices are now communicating with some assistance from humans.

The overwhelming amount of data communication is now too vast for humans alone to analyze and make decisions. Additionally, the quantity of data, along with advancements in machine learning and artificial intelligence, have enabled machines to speed up manufacturing by processing data at a pace and scale never seen before.

Finally, machines and systems are beginning to bypass former human bottlenecks by communicating and making necessary decisions without human involvement.

The goal of Industry 4.0 is smart communication: Machines communicating with other devices leading to factory automation.

Data Quality
Data is the cornerstone of Industry 4.0. Factory automation is dependent on the collection and communication of data. However, data intelligence and communication are only as good as the quality of the data. If one portion of data is incomplete, the whole system can fail.

The conversation about data collections needs to shift. For too long, collecting as much data as possible has been championed over gathering useful data that translates between systems. Actionable insights and automated decision-making by machines and computer systems require focus over the next decade to achieve Industry 4.0. In other words, the quality of data is more important than the quantity of data. A lot of low-quality data means more resources being consumed for less accurate outputs.

Smart Devices
An example of Industry 4.0 connected smart devices is visual sensors attached to robotic arms that send and receive data. It also includes equipment like autonomous robots that move products on the factory floor and move heavy materials at just the right time.

Industrial smart devices use sensors to collect data to make autonomous decisions while simultaneously communicating with a more extensive system. Automated communication enables independent synchronization across an entire smart factory.

Digital Transformation
Digital Transformation
To realize Industry 4.0, companies must go through a digital transformation. Digital transformation is a strategic initiative to move an organization from analog to digital methods or from digital processes to an automated systems strategy.

Digital transformation is typically an enterprise-wide initiative focused on cutting costs and increasing profit margins through digitalization. Industry 4.0 is part of the digital transformation processes for the engineering, procurement, and manufacturing divisions of a company.

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