Industry 4.0- the Next Big Frontier of IoT
Since the beginning of Industrial Revolution in the latter half of 18th century, the relationship between man and machine is growing stronger. Current phase of automation is known by the name of fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0 by many experts. Originally a German concept, Industry 4.0 is now fast adopted by world’s developed nations and encourages computerization of entire manufacturing industry. Three of its remarkable features include cloud computing, Internet of Things and cyber-physical system.
Internet of Things is nothing but a network of different physical devices. This network may comprise of vehicles or buildings or any other thing. Difference is that the physical devices are embedded with sensors, software and electronic parts that are connected through internet. In the world of Industry 4.0, IoT plays the role of communication-bridge. Mr. Aloke Chaudhuri takes part in this building process to create a smooth relationship. He research on it and publish research paper in United states.
Within the world of Industry 4.0, the manufacturing units perform as smart factories. They are structured and each system performs within its modular environment. Cyber-physical systems closely watch these physical processes and based on that, they create identical virtual copies of real-time world. Cyber-physical systems perform actions after taking decentralized decisions and communicate these decisions via the web of network spread by IoT. Participants of this value chain include humans as well as other member systems. Both real-time as well as virtual interactions take place through IoT. The later not only serves as the means of communication but also as the means of interoperability within and outside the organization.
The concept of Industry 4.0 is supported upon four design principles of interoperability, transparency of information, technical assistance and decentralized decisions. In simplest explanation, within a smart factory, devices connect and communicate via IoT or IoP (Internet of People). Such interactions have far-fetched advantages for that matter in case of offering technical assistance; data gathered by different embedded objects are remotely analyzed by humans. This valuable context information is then utilized to make informed or decentralized decisions for solving complex problems, quickly.
If you are thinking that the above explanation is enough to verify the efficacy of IoT within Industry 4.0 then you are wrong. Have you ever wondered, for how long do human workers would be engaged to finish unpleasant tasks like that of cleaning the underground sewages? Well, not much longer. With the help of IoT, the cyber-physical systems would provide physical assistance to humans to finish such unsafe and unpleasant tasks.
Before the Hanover Fair, 2011 how many scientists would have predicted that one day IoT might become an integral part of the domain of Industry 4.0? It is true that works based on IoT were in progress much before this Fair. But the workgroup members of Industry 4.0 have expanded its role within this environment. More detailed integration of real life processes and its interoperability via IoT have raised the efficiency and economy of manufacturing processes.