The Geneva-based WEF is dedicated to engaging the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to “shape global, regional and industry agendas”. It is best known for its annual meeting in Davos in Switzerland at the end of January, as featured in the world’s media a few weeks’ ago. The expression The Fourth Industrial Revolution comes from a book by Professor Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the WEF. So, it is appropriate and apposite that the WEF’s head of society and innovation should speak to us ahead of Industry 4.0 Summit.

How has the concept and implementation of the 4th Industrial Revolution changed since first recognised?

“The pace of change has accelerated and more and more leaders across sectors are starting to realize that the fourth industrial revolution is a critical structural shift. It is already affecting corporate strategies and government policy – look for example at how governments from the UK to UAE are developing and adopting new strategies and policies focused on AI, distributed ledgers and biotechnologies.”

Are the challenges being overcome and the opportunities realised, and is cooperation and exchange of ideas key?

“None of the benefits or challenges can be effectively understood or managed without cooperation across disciplines, countries and stakeholders. This is because the economic, institutional, academic and geographic boundaries that were created during the first and second industrial revolutions are being broken down thanks to the impact of new technologies, as well as the way that they are develop and how they spread. In itself, this crossing of specialisation and boundaries is one of the more disruptive aspects of the fourth industrial revolution. But the good news is that it also unlocks a huge amount of new opportunity, as the exchange of ideas generates whole new ways of creating, exchanging and distributing value.”

Please describe the role and work of the WEF in relation to 4IR?

“The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public Private Partnership. As such, we have developed and conduct a wide range of research and stimulate public dialogue around the concept and impact of the 4IR to help ensure that our economic and social systems are able to take advantage of the opportunities of emerging tech while managing the risks. We also have created the World Economic Forum Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution – and are creating a global network of other Centers – to tackle specific governance challenges and assist the public and private sectors with developing agile approaches around technologies such as autonomous vehicles, drones, AI and precision medicine.”

How do you see SMEs implementing 4IR and smart factories?

“SMEs are of course critically important in the industrial ecosystem, playing diverse roles as innovators, key suppliers and service specialists throughout value chains. The 4IR as a vision for manufacturing, which includes smart factories, is therefore not something we can think about or develop as confined to a single organization or facility – it means that SMEs must be co-designers of new approaches.”

What are major issues going to be for society?

“The three biggest social issues we see are first, ensuring that the benefits are fairly distributed. This means thinking about who has access to new tech, anticipating labour market shifts and rethinking how we manage our tax systems in a world where smart capital becomes more important.

“Second, ensuring that the externalities – whether environmental, related to health and safety or bias and discrimination – are minimized and don’t fall on the most vulnerable. All technological systems are political in some way, embodying our values. There are many recent examples of how AI and machine learning systems can be very biased and discriminatory, and this can spell disaster for people with less voice and power.

“Third, we have to ensure that we build trust in new technologies as they emerge, and that we appreciate how they change us as human beings. It’s important to make sure that technology strengthens our communities and interpersonal relationships – but we also know that technology can have big impacts on how we view and relate to others.”

What are your thoughts on the UK government Smart Industrial Review?

“It’s great to see the UK continuing to lead in analysing the business case for adopting and extending the impact of new technologies. The benefits of new technologies don’t emerge unless we adopt them – and unless we do so in a way that is responsible to potential risks. The Made Smarter review suggests that over the next 10 years industrial digitalisation could boost UK manufacturing by £455bn, increase sector growth up to 3% per year, and create a net gain of 175,000 jobs whilst reducing CO2 emissions by 4.5%. The question for everyone should be: how can I help the UK achieve this, and do even better?”

What do you see as the importance of events like Industry 4.0 Summit?

“Events like this summit are critical to bringing people together from different firms, sectors and parts of the country and the world. The ability to exchange ideas, find new partners and identify trade-offs and risks well in advance is essential to ensuring the 4IR is value enhancing, sustainable and inclusive.”

The post Interview with Nicholas Davis at the World Economic Forum appeared first on Industry 4.0 Summit - discover the 4th industrial revolution.

University Challenge: interview with Dr Carl Driver

Running alongside Industry 4.0 Summit is a two-day Industry 4.0 Academia Summit in association with University of Manchester. Dr Driver tells us more:

What is your aim with the academic conference?

“Our main aim is to bring academia and industry closer together. The fact that we can host the two events under one roof is an ideal opportunity to stimulate debate on how they can work together effectively. There is a strong push to see closer collaboration and I hope that new projects will result from the combined events.”

What is your aim within industry 4.0 now and in the future?

“As a leading research University, we at the University of Manchester aim to ensure that our courses are preparing the graduates of the future, that our postgraduate research students are developing solutions that will have an impact in the future and that we are collaborating closely with industry and implementing industry 4 solutions to improve productivity and make the optimum use of resources in organisations.”

What are the key competences with UoM that you can offer industry?

“Due to the multidisciplinary nature of industry 4.0 and the fact that each solutions will be specific for each company that implements Industry 4.0 we are well placed to support industry in this respect. We have leading researchers in the areas of Manufacturing, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Additive Manufacturing, Computer science covering big data analytics and machine learning, Mathematics, to name but a few. We also have a very effective business engagement team that supports industry in finding the right academics to support them.”

Northern Powerhouse and Manchester – what are the opportunities?

“As Manchester was the birth place often 1st revolution it is fitting that we should be at the centre of the 4th revolution which, combined with proposed government investment in the region, will enable companies to exploit the opportunities that industry 4.0 presents. Improved connectivity will also be highly beneficial in this regard. Recent reviews have also highlight the need to establish digital hubs in the North West to harness the innovative and industrial nature off the region.”

What is your vision and what are your expectations relating the 4th Industrial Revolution and Manchester and the North in general?

“Manchester is seeing a great deal of investment and we can see this from the infrastructure work that is taking place in the city and the wider region. Industry 4 will allow better collaboration between companies in the supply chain and will enable other to jointed supply chain that may not have been possible previously due to the advantages that IOT and dat sharing and real time information brings.”

What strategies do you see as key?

“It is very important that training and support and advice is put in place to enable SMEs to implement the aspects of Industry 4.0 that will make a real difference to their business and not just automating for the sake ion automating. It is important for educational instutitutions to ensure that we are providing the right kind of training and education to prepare our students for future careers in this sector. We invest in research in the field but also in out people.”

What role do events like the academic conference and Industry 4.0 Summit play in advancing the new technologies and interactions?

“I think it simply gives people the opportunity to step back from their day to day activities and to engage in discussions with individuals who they would not normally meet or to listen to talks and research presentations in topics that might also work for them in their own work.”

Take a look at the Academia Programme 

Register Now for the Academia Summit

The post University Challenge: Interview with Carl Diver appeared first on Industry 4.0 Summit - discover the 4th industrial revolution.

Theorem Solutions of Tamworth, UK, have launched a ‘Multi-Device’ Visualization Experience App for Augmented (AR), Mixed (MR) and Virtual Reality (VR) devices and markets.

The Visualization Experience app forms part of Theorem’s ‘Digital Realities’ product family, and has been specifically developed for users to engage and interact with their Engineering and Manufacturing data. It is one of the first to offer a single solution for all three different technologies in a single application.

Supported devices are:

• Augmented Reality– Windows 10 and Android Tablets and Phones
• Mixed Reality– Microsoft HoloLens
• Virtual Reality– HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

Being Multi-Device, the application allows users to use the same data, in the same visualization application, on ALL of the different low-cost devices.

The app enables users to view, manipulate and interrogate CAD and PLM data using a combination of touch, hand gestures and voice controls-depending on the device- with each device suiting different use cases and scenarios.

“Today, we rely so much on technology – it simplifies our existence – but at the same time, we don’t fully utilize what’s available to us” observes Stuart Thurlby, CEO of Theorem Solutions.

“Some Engineering and Manufacturing processes are still not harnessing new technology or finding new ways of performing established tasks, but technology has evolved and needs to be embraced in order to keep up with, and be ahead of, the game. We see Augmented (AR), Mixed (MR) and Virtual Reality (VR) running on the new low cost devices to be that game-changer!”

With new low-cost devices and technologies for Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality emerging for the consumer markets, the natural progression into the commercial arena is beginning.

Existing Assets can be used.

“VR has been available for many years in the engineering and manufacturing space, but it has always come with an enormous price tag and only a few are in the ‘privileged’ position to fully be able to utilize the technology for visualization” Stuart comments, “but now the ability to use existing CAD and PLM assets in all of the latest devices without the price tag is actually a reality.”

How it works

The Theorem server architecture enables the CAD and PLM assets server to talk to other servers and prepare data so it can be streamed to a device. Existing CAD and PLM data assets from CATIA 3DEXPERIENCE, CATIA V5, CREO, Inventor, JT, NX, SolidWorks and STEP formats can be utilised.

Data is optimised and prepared for use once, and then delivers the same Visualization Experience across all supported platforms, saving money on data preparation, training and support.

Where does the technology come from?

These new devices and technologies are not coming from the Engineering and CAD/PLM industries, but from the gaming and social media industries.

Combining gaming technology with engineering CAD and PLM data in a single application creates an interactive user experience, and becomes even more powerful when combined with metadata from MES, ERP, CRM and IoT systems.

Theorem’s Visualization Experience is used for the Digital Twin area of the IoT, design reviews, Manufacturing Build, Quality Control, Service applications and training, and even sales & marketing, with the ability to tailor the experience to a specific use case.

The Visualization Experience integrates into existing workflows. Data can be dragged and dropped onto the server, populated via a PLM Release/Publish trigger or saved directly from CAD applications.

Theorem’s Visualization and Digital Reality products offer a key component to enable the ‘Visualization Pipeline’ and help to democratize AR, MR and VR throughout your organisation.

What Theorem are offering

“What Theorem are offering in the Visualization Experience is a framework, combined with consultancy, enabling you to build your own specific experiences.” Stuart Thurlby explains, “We have ensured that your data and device neutrality is there, which will protect your investment as this world changes. It is effectively future proofing your CAD and PLM assets”

“Ultimately, the Theorem Visualization Experience presents new and innovative ways of performing existing tasks, or creating entirely new processes and methods of delivery.”

For more information take a look at the video.

The post Theorem Solutions: Democratising Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality appeared first on Industry 4.0 Summit - discover the 4th industrial revolution.

Siemens has 15 manufacturing facilities in the UK enabling it to reveal the underlying principles of the 4th Industrial Revolution in real manufacturing environments and demonstrate the value it brings in terms of productivity and growth. Siemens is a major employer in Manchester, where the company has an important manufacturing facility with emphasis on Industry Automation & Drive Technologies. So it is appropriate that this great company, with its long association with Manchester, should welcome attendees to the premier event dedicated to the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the home of the first.

“Industry 4.0 Summit will be attended by companies eager to understand how to put their own strategy in place and learn from leading companies such as Siemens, IBM, GKN, Meggitt, Babcock, Intel, Schneider Electric, Bosch Rexroth, Panalpina and many more,” commented Event organiser, Gary Gilmour. “We are delighted that one of the manufacturing giants of Manchester is supporting this event in their home town and look forward to the local manufacturing sector taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge and advice available at the event.”

The post Siemens CEO to give Welcome Address appeared first on Industry 4.0 Summit - discover the 4th industrial revolution.

“In the three months to November 2017, the Index of Production was estimated to have increased by 1.2% compared with the three months to August 2017, due mainly to a rise of 1.4% in manufacturing,” the ONS revealed, referring to its Monthly Business Survey (MBS) production industries dataset.

“Total production output increased by 3.3% for the three months to November 2017 compared with the same three months to November 2016,” it said, with manufacturing providing the largest upward contribution, increasing by 3.9%.

The report continued: “Manufacturing provided the largest upward contribution to total production, rising by 1.4%, due to broad-based strength within the sector and following an increase of 1.3% in the three months to October 2017. Out of the 13 sub-sectors, 12 experienced growth over this period. Machinery and equipment not elsewhere classified provided the largest contribution, rising by 5.6%, the strongest growth since November 2010 when it rose by 6.4%. Evidence collected from some of the larger businesses in this industry confirmed that increased turnover was due to work carried out on large-scale projects including renewable energy. In the three months to November 2017, compared with the three months to August 2017, increases in export turnover of 5.3% and domestic turnover of 13.4% were reported by this industry.”

Healthy economies in the USA, Europe and elsewhere contribute to the UK’s manufacturing growth through exports, but competitiveness through efficiency is key.

The 4th Industrial Revolution is kicking in and gathering momentum in its natural homeland the UK. At the end of February, Industry leaders will be gathering in Manchester at the Industry 4.0 Summit and Factories of the Future Expo to discuss the present state of manufacturing in the context of the 4th Industrial Revolution and chart its future course.

Nothing can stand in the way of what is proving to be true progress as the 4th Industrial Revolution continues to establish itself in the home of the first.

The post British Industry is on the UP appeared first on Industry 4.0 Summit - discover the 4th industrial revolution.

How do you see the smart factory developing?
“A manufacturing unit commonly has machinery from different brands such as Fuji, Siemens, and so on, and also has different production lines. With a lot happening in the production cycle that employs various technologies, machinery, and equipment, it becomes challenging for the plant managers to recognize the loopholes affecting the production. Every machine works separately producing independent data that has to be analysed separately, which turns out to be a lengthy and time-consuming process. We believe in making all this easier for the manufacturers, and our Smart Factory solution simplifies the process by obtaining data from various machines, analysing it, and optimizing it to find a problem. It even performs the predictive maintenance and predictive failure detection. We also improve the management of complex manufacturing processes even further by making the insights easily available by creating a single 3D user interface so the factory will not need to have a separate monitor room in the future to scrutinize the devices used in the plant.”

What is the company vision relating to the 4th Industrial Revolution?
“We believe it is already here and we already have concrete examples of it with our customers. Real time data is allowing better and faster decisions. Machine learning can warn early enough so that problems can be prevented. The success depends on the cases, but for machines typically predictive maintenance can catch over 90% of existing machine stops. Adding to information on material and operations the unplanned down time can be reduced in most cases by 5 to 10%. This and more contributes to an OEE increase of several percent, again, of course dependent on machine and situation. In generally we are expecting to have 5-8% Improvement in productivity.”

How do you regard digitalisation and connectivity in the context of 4IR?
“My personal view is that the manufacturing plants which have not yet started to utilize the IoT/analytics tools to improve their productivity and quality in all production processes, including inbound and outbound operations, will struggle and will probably have serious competitive challenges in the future.”

How can the smart factory become both efficient and secure?
“Smart Factory is an idea to digitalize operations in the factory. The target is to connect and collect all the data and analyse and predict the “future”. All that is happening in the factory so there will not be any security risks as you do not need to open your factory data to the public internet.”

Industry 4.0 Summit and Factories of the Future Expo
“Events like the Industry 4.0 Summit and Factories of the Future Expo are a good place to share learnings and opinions. As a solution provider we are aware of the difficulties major manufacturing organizations are currently facing, and it’s a good medium to share our learnings and knowledge with others facing similar issues.”

The post Director, Smart Factory Management, reveals his company’s approach to 4.0 appeared first on Industry 4.0 Summit - discover the 4th industrial revolution.

The EPO said it had identified over 48 000 patent applications filed up to year-end 2016 relating to three technology sectors of 4IR: core technologies in ICT (information and communication technology) that make it possible to create connected objects; enabling technologies that complement core technologies, such as Artificial intelligence (AI) and User interfaces; and application domains of these technologies, such as Vehicles, Enterprise and Home.

“During the last World Economic Forum in Davos, a particular focus was put on mapping trends in artificial intelligence technologies. In this regard, patent information is helping us obtain a better understanding of a subject that is currently capturing the imagination of business leaders, industry and the wider public,” explained EPO President Benoît Battistelli.

The number of relevant patents relating to all three 4IR sectors were found to have begun to rise steeply in the mid-1990s. More than 5 000 patent applications for inventions concerning autonomous objects were filed at the EPO in 2016 alone.

The majority of the inventions filed concern new applications domains (e.g. Personal, Enterprise, Vehicles) and inventions related to core technologies (Connectivity, Hardware and Software). However, the fastest growth rates are observed in enabling technologies such as 3D systems, Artificial intelligence or Power supply.

The study found that in 2016, Europe, the USA and Japan filed most 4IR patents followed by South Korea and China, mainly from ICT companies.

The post Patents and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) appeared first on Industry 4.0 Summit - discover the 4th industrial revolution.

Opportunities come with challenges, and so a new kind of industrial strategy is required. “As many as 35% of jobs may be displaced by automation and artificial intelligence: new ones will take their place but will require a strategic approach to retraining. It needs to be long-term, rooted in a new ’partnership of the century’ between government and business, and crucially, it needs to be a ‘leapfrog’ strategy, aimed at the UK overtaking competitors, not just catching up,”

A CBI survey of over 400 firms indicates there is consensus amongst firms that people, innovation and infrastructure are needed to drive living standards across regions and sectors, but all three need to be transformed to power a new, modern economy. Key concerns include uncertain economic outlook and what post-Brexit trade will look like. However, an effective industrial strategy can be a tonic for uncertainty, it found.

The Government is urged to build a new consensus between the political parties and to support this, the CBI recommends the creation of an independent Industrial Strategy body, which could measure, advise and build confidence that this plan will last. Regional industrial strategies are a large part of the solution. Every region of the UK has special strengths that can be unlocked by devolution and tailored strategies. To ensure no part of the UK is left behind, the CBI recommends the appointment of a regional commissioner to oversee delivery, regardless of local political structures.

CBI Director-General, Carolyn Fairbairn, said: “A leapfrog industrial strategy is within reach but not easy and will require a partnership of the century between government and business. Nobody wants to have this conversation again in four years’ time, and jobs and opportunity won’t wait around.

“We look forward to the publication of the Government’s strategy and to working with them and across all parties to build an industrial strategy that can stand the test of time and improve lives across the UK.”

The post CBI confident about 4.0 in Britain appeared first on Industry 4.0 Summit - discover the 4th industrial revolution.

The post A smart factory reality appeared first on Industry 4.0 Summit - discover the 4th industrial revolution.

The post Stellar line-up of speakers appeared first on Industry 4.0 Summit - discover the 4th industrial revolution.