Ten Years of Industrie 4.0

Abstract

A decade after its introduction, Industrie 4.0 has been established globally as the dominant paradigm for the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry. Amalgamating research-based results and practical experience from the German industry, this contribution reviews the progress made in implementing Industrie 4.0 and identifies future fields of action from a technological and application-oriented perspective. Putting the human in the center, Industrie 4.0 is the basis for data-based value creation, innovative business models, and agile forms of organization. Today, in the German manufacturing industry, the Internet of Things and cyber–physical production systems are a reality in newly built factories, and the connectivity of machinery has been significantly increased in existing factories. Now, the trends of industrial AI, edge computing up to the edge cloud, 5G in the factory, team robotics, autonomous intralogistics systems, and trustworthy data infrastructures must be leveraged to strengthen resilience, sovereignty, semantic interoperability, and sustainability. This enables the creation of digital innovation ecosystems that ensure long-term adaptability in a volatile economic and geopolitical environment. In sum, this review represents a comprehensive assessment of the status quo and identifies what is needed in the future to reap the rewards of the groundwork done in the first ten years of Industrie 4.0.