Most companies are still trying to get to grips with Industry 4.0 and already there is talk of Industry 5.0. What is the difference?
Industry 4.0 is the bringing together of robots, interconnected devices and fast networks of data within a factory environment, basically to make the factory more productive and to execute the routine tasks that are best done by robots and not best done by humans.
Because Industry 4.0 heavily favors automation and unprecedented levels of productivity, many companies have now adopted technologies such as the IoT, AI, big data, remote and cloud computing and advanced robotics.
For anyone who hasn’t adopted these technologies, 4.0 is still very much in the now. However, many companies at the forefront of technology have already moved on to the next generation: Industry 5.0.
While Industry 4.0 is all about automation and digitization, the future of manufacturing is in personalization. Manufacturing 5.0, or the 5th Industrial Revolution, will focus on the co-operation between humans and robots. Although the focus remains on automation and advanced manufacturing, the human element is more important than ever.
The easiest way to explain 5.0 is that it takes the automated and efficient concept and injects it with a traditional, personalized human touch. Adopting more conventional human-based setups might sound like a step back, but there’s a good reason for it. It’s less a move backward or transformational shift — such as 4.0 — and more a merger or collaborative operation.