Industry 4.

0 has been defined as “a name for the current trend of automation and data
exchange in manufacturing technologies, including cyber-physical systems, the Internet of
things, cloud computing and cognitive computing and creating the smart factory”.
Industry 4.0
The concept of Industry 4.0 started in Germany in 2011, a new paradigm shift in the world of
manufacturing similar to the previous three industrial revolutions (Davies et al., 2017;
Popkova et al., 2019; Rojko, 2017). Industry 4.0 originated with the merging of technologies
such as information and communication technologies (ICT), the internet and machines
(Kumar et al., 2019). The fourth industrial revolution concerns the digital transformation of
manufacturing (Agostinho & Baldo, 2021). New industrial technologies under the digital
transformation are making it easier to collect information from machines and to perform data
analysis. Therefore supporting an increase of flexibility, efficiency and speed of
manufacturing high quality items at an ideal price. In addition, enhancing the growth and
productivity of organizations (Patnaik, 2020). Industry 4.0 concerns technologies such as
Cyber physical systems, the Internet of things, big data and analytics, cloud computing,
vertical and horizontal integration, additive manufacturing, augmented reality, simulation and
robotics (Patnaik, 2020; Ramírez-Durán et al., 2021). With Cyber physical systems and the
Internet of Things being the foundation of industry 4.0. Furthermore, there is an increased
likelihood of vast data generation, as the technologies offer more efficiency, where big data
and cloud storage are integrated with industry 4.0 to efficiently manage the large amounts of
data (Patnaik, 2020). Considered to be some of the major technologies under the title of
Industry 4.0, the following sections of the chapter presents Cyber-Physical systems, Internet
of Things, Big data and Analytics and Cloud computing.
Cyber-Physical Systems
A fundamental aspect to Industry 4.0 is the adaptation of cyber physical systems into the
production process (Kumar et al., 2019; Popkova et al., 2019). Industry 4.0 concerns the
automation of information communications within production systems through the integration
of the Internet of things with cognitive and cloud computing forming what is known as Cyber
physical systems (Patnaik, 2020). Popkova et al. (2019) explain it as processing centers and
automated machines with connection to the internet where the intention of the system is to
enable the machines to adjust the production model if the need appears. Kumar et al. (2019)
describe CPS as Digital devices, production centers, machines and smart products interacting
with each other, passing on data that enables the self monitoring and control of the different
aspects within the system. Interactions between physical objects and various software
platforms are integrated within the cyber physical systems which enables the communication
of relevant data (Kumar et al., 2019). Where large amounts of data can flow through the
systems with CPS (Patnaik, 2020). CPS takes use of various sensors enabling self-governing
machines to be supervised and controlled at distance through different kinds of devices such
as computers and mobile phones. Decentralized decision making and the clarity of data are
two of the main aspects of the cyber physical system in companies that have automated the
process flow (Patnaik, 2020).
Internet of Things
The internet of things exists within a digital space where various production resources and
objects are installed with sensors, actuators and digital devices. Information can be collected
and communicated between the objects as the objects are connected to each other through the
digital space (Kumar et al., 2019). The internet of things (IoT) is part of CPS where the
channel of communication is the internet. The “things” in IoT relate to the ability to grant
network connectivity and computing capability to objects such as sensors and ordinary
products which are not usually viewed as possessing computing power (Davies et al., 2017).
IoT supports the exchange of data between physical objects, systems and services, therefore
also supporting industries accomplish automation. With one main aspect of IoT being to
produce smart objects by automated identification technology, RFID is a technology used for
identifying and differentiating items within the manufacturing industry (Kumar et al., 2019).
Objects that have been identified can exchange data collected through their sensors and
therefore communicate with each other creating large amounts of additional data related to the
manufacturing process. The objects in the internet of things within productions evolve to
become smart production objects which can sense, interact and interconnect and thus proceed
to produce automatically (Kumar et al., 2019).
Big Data and Analytics
Big data can essentially be used to process and analyze large volumes and varieties of data
(Patnaik, 2020). Data has become more accessible with the advancement of internet
technologies in addition to affordable and available sensors, thus industries are showing
interest regarding data networks and technologies (Jelonek et al., 2020; Kumar et al., 2019).
The technology of big data offers cost efficiency and scalability on a larger scale than what is
achievable with the conventional data management framework (Jelonek et al., 2020). The flow
of data will increase in the systems of industries through digitalization, a major matter is
processing, data keeping and maintenance of large amounts of data generated from various
sources (Patnaik, 2020). The main barrier for big data is to properly process data to allow the
correct data for the required objective to be presented at the correct time and it is therefore
important to apply leading analytic technologies to manufacturing industries. The advanced
analytical technologies can support in revealing trends in the market, patterns and customer
needs among other useful information (Kumar et al, 2019). Customer satisfaction could be
improved through the analysis of data collected through data mining of the products used.
Offering increased productivity and a competitive edge for the production companies that
apply advanced analytics to big data (Kumar et al., 2019; Patnaik, 2020). Additionally, by
processing big data crucial factors can be revealed for the production, factors that can have a
critical role for the manufacturing process (Kumar et al., 2019).
Cloud Computing
Cloud Computing offers scalable on demand computing resources through the internet.
(Jelonek et al., 2020; Kumar et al., 2019). Cloud computing provides users functions such as
storing data and using high quality programs and services from anywhere in the world through
a network of computing resources which can be configured (Jelonek et al., 2020). If the
correct type of software is applied, users could run all the programs they would normally run
using a standard computer through cloud computing . As a result of cloud computing being
scalable it can support organizations to initiate projects on a small level and further invest
resources, adjusting to the demand if needed (Kumar et al., 2019). In addition, Cloud
computing provides
increased competitiveness as an outcome because of advantages such as more elasticity,
flexibility, reduction in cost and ideal resource utilization. The adaptation of cloud computing
services has allowed companies of various types to increase their capacity (Kumar et al.,
2019). Cloud computing platforms are being built because of the broad acceptance of
intelligent manufacturing within industries. Most of the platforms are being built based on the
IoT framework and the industries are developing these platforms on the basis of proper
implementation of intelligent manufacturing (Kumar et al., 2019). Through cloud computing
companies can use software connected to various parts of the production which enables the
control of data in real time. In which there is an exchange of information between various
machines within the process as the software collects the information from the database to
properly analyze it in order to make the required decisions. Cloud manufacturing enables
production on demand through the cloud as requested by the customer (Kumar et al., 2019).
There has been a decrease in the cost of big data and cloud computing in recent times which
supports the advancement of process automation (Jelonek et al., 2020).