06 Nov Industry 4.0
Introduction
Industry 4.O refers to the development and the management of the all our physical technology through the virtually developed systems. The most common term used about this is the Internet of things (IoT). It helps in the optimization of the 3rd industrial revolution and creates the ease of management for the industries and businesses alike to manage and control their assets and their data without the need for any dedicated and expensive solutions. Industry 4.O has given us countless methods of doing just that most popular of which is the cloud computing and cloud storage. It is perhaps the most prominent element of the 4th industrial revolution that is happening right now. The innovation of the cloud has solved the long distance management problems that were extremely complicated to address in the 3rd industrial revolution. Now thanks to the industry 4.O, one can manage their assets and their entire industries from the other side of the world, controlling the machines and their entire processes in one continent from as far as another continent. Technological feats like machine learning, machine to machine communications (M2M) and big data have been made possible with the advent of Industry 4.O. Block-chain technology, cyber-physical systems, cognitive computing and creation of smart factories are all a part of this fourth industrial revolution. All of the most commonly tools used in the optimization of our current systems are the Industry 4.O.
History
Industry 4.O refers to the fourth industrial revolution that has happened in the world. There are some who would disagree with this terminology but it is generally accepted as that. It is the result of efforts and progress of mankind dating from the 1st proto-industrialization period of mechanization, the most noteworthy of which was the steam engine. The 2nd industrial revolution started in the 19th century when the explosion in the technical advancements led to discovery of the new energy sources, namely electricity, oil and gas. The 3rd industrial revolution happened in the mid of the 20th century with the emergence of Nuclear power, telecommunication, electronics and computers which are still being used in the whole world and are deeply integrated into every part of our industry. The fourth industrial revolution, the Industry 4.O started with the public and easy access of internet. It opened limitless and infinite opportunities for the businesses in every sector of industries, commerce and every other field there is.
Scope
Industry 4.O has limitless scope in all sectors of our society, be it industrial sector or the education sector. The current technological advancements have already made the smart management of the industrial assets possible through the Industrial Internet of things (IIoT), cloud computing, big data and cyber-physical systems and the their future holds limitless possibilities. Human interjection in the management of the most of the industrial sector has already been reduced thanks to the smart management made possible through the 4.O industry and the future may bring us a society completely managed by the AIs. It may not be limited to industrial or commercial sectors, but may spread to all aspects of the modern society. Machine learning is becoming more and more efficient with every passing day and we may very well be operating our industries with completely autonomous AI systems in the near future.
Current progress Worldwide
The current progress of the industry 4.O in rest of the world is far ahead of Pakistan. There are humongous projects being funded, not only by individual companies but also by the nations themselves. One of the prime examples of one of such projects is the RESTART project which is the being funded by the European Commission to meet their ever rising need of the digital skills and to stay up to date with the consistent technological developments in the industry. The project was initiated with the goal of involving the industrial sector in the transformation of the Vocational Educational and Training (VET) systems.
Restart is just a small part of the amazing advancements in the Industry 4.O. There is the Logistics 4.O or the smart supply chain management. There are seaports which are completely autonomous with their cargo loading systems without any involvement of the dock workers. The Construction 4.O where the whole houses are being built from as little as 24 hours to 10 days with smart construction technology and 3D printing tools. There are smart public transportation systems like the smart trains at the Docklands Light Railways in the East London which move without any drivers, completely autonomously. There are cars and trucks with autopilot features a prime example of that is the Tesla Model S. Manufacturing 4.O is another prime example of the current technological advancement and the Audi’s Smart factory is just the tip of the iceberg in that matter where robots are managing the entire production line of the cars.
There are several other huge projects and technological development going in the Industry 4.O all over the world and the ones mentioned here don’t even scratch the surface of it.
Situation of Industry 4.0 in Pakistan
Pakistan is far behind the rest of the world in terms of any implementations or achievement of the Industry 4.O in its industrial sector. Most of our industries are still using the outdated production line and production systems and do not have the awareness of the advantages that the automation and smart management would bring them. There are only a few corporations currently working on this aspect in Pakistan. The production and service sectors are sorely lacking in the efficiency of their management and their processes and the Industry 4.0 can have a lot of impact to change that fact.
What Pakistan needs to do to catch up with rest of the World!
The production and the service sectors of Pakistan could benefit a lot from the application of the Industry 4.0. There have been various studies in this sector for the applications and the implication of the Industry 4.O in the Pakistan and the results of those studies all pointed to the radical improvements in the production, manufacturing and the service sectors. Pakistan can use one of its unique advantages of the CPEC and can use its economic zones to set up the smart factories which would help the country to jump leaps and bounds to the front lines of the industry. Improvements should be made in the already existing industries of the country and smart management and solutions should be introduced.
Where AMSPower stands
AMS Power stands at the forefront of the industry 4.O in Pakistan and is top contender and the lead runner in the industry. AMSPower is already introducing the applications of the 4.O industry in Pakistan with the deeply impactful IIoT with a heavy emphasis on the machine learning, machine to machine communications (M2M) and big data. All of this encompasses the robotics, medical devices, production lines, and software-defined production processes. It is the only organization in the whole country to offer services like smart inventory management, predictive maintenance, connected supply chain management and remote industrial monitoring.
