Trends on Industrie 4.0 and artificial intelligence in Europe
Result of the project "2023-1-EL01-KA220-ADU-000159147" : Trends on Industrie 4.0 and artificial intelligence in Europe
The term “Industrie 4.0” was initially coined by the German government. It describes and encapsulates a set of technological changes in manufacturing and sets out priorities of a coherent policy framework with the aim of maintaining the global competitiveness of German industry. It is conceptual in that it sets out a way of understanding an observed phenomenon and institutional in that it provides the framework for a range of policy initiatives identified and supported by government and business representatives that drive a research and development program.
Industry 4.0 describes the organisation of production processes based on technology and devices autonomously communicating with each other along the value chain: a model of the ‘smart’ factory of the future where computer-driven systems monitor physical processes, create a virtual copy of the physical world and make decentralised decisions based on self-organisation mechanisms.
The concept takes account of the increased computerization of the manufacturing industries where physical objects are seamlessly integrated into the information network. As a result, “manufacturing systems are vertically networked with business processes within factories and enterprises and horizontally connected to spatially dispersed value networks that can be managed in real time – from the moment an order is placed right through to outbound logistics.”
