Industry 4.0 is a name for
the current trend of automation and data exchange in
manufacturing technologies. It includes cyber-physical systems, the Internet of things, cloud computing and cognitive computing. Industry 4.0 is commonly referred to as the fourth
industrial revolution.
Industry 4.0 creates what has been called
a "smart factory". Within the modular structured smart factories,
cyber-physical systems monitor physical processes, create a virtual copy of the
physical world and make decentralized decisions. Over the Internet of Things,
cyber-physical systems communicate and cooperate with each other and with
humans in real time, and via cloud computing, both
internal and cross-organizational services are offered and used by participants
of the value chain.
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| What is Industry 4.0 (Source: Datex, 2018) |
The term "Industry 4.0" originates
from a project in the high-tech strategy of the German government, which promotes the computerisation of manufacturing. Current usage
of the term has been criticised as essentially meaningless, in particular on
the grounds that technological innovation is continuous and the concept of a
"revolution" in technology innovation is based on a lack of knowledge
of the specific details.
Speculative
design is the practice of using design to solve problems that may arise in the
future. Primarily by the process of raising questions, designers can
subsequently react to these hypothesis as a means of addressing these problems
before they have a chance to unfold. I feel that this specific design process could be
harnessed by policy-makers within government as a means of sustainably planning
for the future world.
References
Datex. (2018). What is Industry 4.0. [Illustration]. Retrieved from https://www.datexcorp.com/hardware/
