The Path to 4.0
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The Path to 4.0

The dive into the Industrial technology showcased an important aspect—the wave of automation and digitalization is reaching small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Driven by the labor shortage, automation has become more urgent among industrial SMBs, and payback from labor-saving projects can be compelling; we found specific examples in which return of investment was less than one year.

Ten years on from the genesis of Industry 4.0, industrial technology such as automation products and services are now within the reach of SMBs. Through Industry 4.0, we entered an era of cyber-physical systems – the convergence of physical, digital, and virtual systems and the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT). Industrial IoT (IIoT) emphasize manufacturing IoT as distinct from retail, consumer, medical, or other IoT devices or architectures.

Within the Industry 4.0 Ecosystem – we take a closer look at Machine vision, Connector Industry, and Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS). Machine Vision is the substitution of human visual sense and judgement with a digital camera and computer to perform a task. It is used for defect detection, identification, optical character recognition (OCR), packaging, product and surface inspection, pattern recognition, gauging, guidance, and part tracking. Secondly, connectors are electrical components that link two or more devices together. Connectors enable contact between wires, cables, printed circuit boards, and electronic components. Their usage is prevalent in a broad range of industries that require electronic applications: Automotive, industrial, A&D, Medical, Telecom, Datacom, and Alternative Energy.  The majority of the RaaS offerings we have seen are robots in structured environments (factory floors, warehouses) where the range of tasks is limited but highly repetitive.  

Through these technologies in the Industry 4.0, we were able to encapsulate the paradigm shift in how industrial companies organize, manage, and approach business. 

@Guy Hardwick