The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Industry 4.0 and 4IR are terms that are becoming commonplace in manufacturing. Now that these terms are accepted, a new wave of technical turns of phrase have been born.
Smart technologies are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in our day to day lives. From smartphones to smart homes, the dramatic increase in power and sophistication of technology is opening up new technological frontiers and promising endless possibilities for the development of many different industries, particularly manufacturing.
Today’s products are typically more complex than ever before. Innovative new designs must leverage a combination of mechanical, electrical, software, and connectivity.
Festo, a global supplier of automation equipment, has unveiled three new lightweight robotic concepts which take inspiration from elephants, octopuses and the human arm.
Omron Corporation has announced the development of a range of artificial intelligence (AI)-equipped technologies which will be incorporated into its factory automation (FA) equipment.
The important role connected technologies play in safeguarding manufacturing resilience has been highlighted with the global predictive maintenance market set to grow exponentially over the next five years.
UK manufacturer, Silent Sensors has announced plans to collaborate with the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) and Bath University to develop a key component for the future of so-called 'Intelligent Tyres', using piezoelectric energy harvesting. This component will be part of the innovative Silent Sensors Tyre Management System (TMS) for vehicles.
