Industry 4.0
When we think about the applications of the Internet of Things (IoT), we mainly think about how it can affect our daily lives, like in the “movie night” scenario presented by Sony’s VP of business development, Nick Colsey. In this example, one could lower the shades of the house, dim the lights, raise the temperature of the room, and even prepare popcorn by just selecting the option labeled “movie night” on the TV screen. While this shows some of the potential of having devices capable of communicating and exchanging data with each other over a network, there are certainly other instances where such network could be more useful, like in an industrial setting.
Having an assembly line with components such as sensors and actuators that can communicate over a wireless network can provide many benefits, like flexibility when adding new elements to the manufacturing process as it can be done quicker than under conventional wired networks, and an increase in efficiency by enabling the user to have a closer control over the manufacturing process. For these reasons, IoT is taking an important role in the fourth industrial revolution, also called Industry 4.0.
This new industrial revolution is being enabled mainly by four technologies [1]. The first one is IoT, which allows devices to be in constant communication and exchanging information in order to reach the task at hand. The second one is data analytics, which allows companies to analyze the information gathered from sensors to identify areas where there could be improvement. Then there is the emergence of new forms of human-machine interactions, mainly through the implementation of easy-to-use interfaces, or even augmented reality [2]. The last one is the ability to translate digital instructions into physical actions through robotics.
Taking into account these technologies, Industry 4.0 has been summarized into a model consisting in four design principles [3] that serve as a guide for anyone who is interested in implementing it.
- Interconnection: Machines, devices, sensors, and actuators are connected overt the IoT
- Information transparency: Interconnection of devices permits data to flow more easily
- Decentralized decisions: Thanks to the previous principles, more information is available to make decisions. Sensors and actuators monitor and control the process autonomously
- Technical assistance: Humans need assistance tools to visualize relevant information and make informed decisions on urgent matters. Humans supported by robots to perform physically exhausting or unsafe tasks.
When the design principles are met, these technologies converge in a “smart” assembly line, where each step of the process can be monitored by a person with the help of augmented reality, and the data gathered by sensors and actuators is used to make predictions which can aid the decision-making process of managers to improve the efficiency of the manufacturing plant.
The implementation of the Industry 4.0 model will surely not only have an impact on the efficiency of the plant, but on the personnel as well. As robots become better and assembly lines become more autonomous, less people will be needed in this part of the manufacturing process. Only a few workers will be necessary to overlook the production site, and be ready to act in case of an emergency or to solve possible contradictions that may arise between devices. However, this does not necessarily mean that less people will be employed. In order to make accurate statistical learning models that explain the data gathered by sensors, more data experts may be hired, which could compensate the decrease of people working in the assembly line, but not completely.
The added flexibility of the Industry 4.0 model can also mean faster response times from customer feedback. As people use the product, data will be gathered continuously, and it will be used to analyze current performance of the product and detect which changes can be made to improve the it and adjust the manufacturing process accordingly.
All this results in better, more efficient manufacturing plants that can make products that are constantly improving, each time at a faster rate.
References
[1] http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/manufacturings-next-act
[2] http://www.industryweek.com/ar
[3] http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=7427673
