Industry 4.0: What’s Next? [Young Professionals]

For the first time in the history of manufacturing, the fourth industrial revolution has not been centered on a specific technology. Steam and electrical powers were the two major contributions of the first and second eras, respectively. Digital controllers and automation constituted the main advancements of the third. As per Industry 4.0, there is not a single technology. Connectivity and digital systems were already in place before the term Industry 4.0 was first mentioned. Digital and connected manufacturing arrived at the exact time when these technologies were mature enough to be combined with modern data processing techniques in a way to extract a reasonable value.