5 Applications and Study Cases
5.6 Smart industry and smart manufacturing

The smart industry is the fourth industrial revolution. For this reason, the term smart industry is also known as Industry 4.0. The first industrial revolution was characterized by mechanization based on water and steam power. The steam engine was one of the most important technologic developments of the first industrial revolution. During the second industrial revolution, the existing manufacturing and production methods were improved. The second industrial revolution happened through the introduction of mass production, assembly lines and electricity. The third industrial revolution happened with the introduction of electronics and computers for a further automation of production. Finally, Industry 4.0 is based on cypher physical production systems which can be able to connect to internet. The IoT will connect the industry to a new range of applications around production such as connecting the industry to the smart grid.

The smart industry will fundamentally change the way how products are invented, manufactured and shipped. In addition, worker safety is increased and the environment is protected by generating zero-emissions and zero-incident manufacturing as possible. In the smart manufacturing products, transport options, and tools will communicate with each other and will be organized with the goal of improving the overall production.

Table 9 - Smart industry and manufacturing applications

Application

Description

M2M applications

Machine auto-diagnosis and assets control

Indoor air quality

Monitoring of toxic gas and oxygen levels inside chemicals plants to ensure workers and goods safety.

Temperature monitoring

Control of temperature inside industrial and medical fridges with sensitive merchandise

Maintain Quality and Consistency

Using networked sensors, cameras, and lasers to analyze manufacturing processes

Fleet tracking

To optimize performance, reduce costs and improve productivity.

Supply chain control

Use of RFID sensors, QR codes, … for better operational efficiencies (asset tracking, vendor relations, forecasting and inventory,…) and revenue opportunities (to know about customers, buying habits, ..)