Industry 4.0 in logistics

Munich, 29.02.2016 - The term Industry 4.0 is a buzzword that has been the subject of heated debate in industry and politics for some time now and has divided opinion. In a narrower sense, the term refers to a future project of the German government that envisages the close networking of modern IT systems and production technologies in order to make industry fit for future challenges.

The basis of Industry 4.0: the Internet of Things

According to the strategy paper, which was drawn up by the German government in collaboration with representatives of the German Industry Association, we are at the gates of the fourth industrial revolution. This new industrial age is being driven primarily by the rapid development of the Internet, which is also playing an increasingly important role in various branches of industry. The rapid development and spread of new networking technologies means that the virtual and real worlds are increasingly merging, which will ultimately lead to an Internet of Things before the end of this decade. This "Internet of Things" is opening up new possibilities in industry and logistics that were considered fiction just a few years ago.

Revolution in the logistics sector

The new technologies are inexorably making their way into the logistics sector in particular and are on the verge of changing the entire industry. These new technologies are intelligent systems that are able to make decisions autonomously, just like a human being. By using these smart technologies, it is possible to have entire operations and processes carried out and controlled by intelligent systems. The gradual introduction and influence of these smart systems can already be seen in today's logistics. Current logistics processes have little to do with the primitive warehousing and shipping that was common in this industry just a few years ago. The new web and networking technologies enable an unprecedented degree of flexibility and interactivity between logistics service providers and customers - further information and news on the latest logistics and production systems can be found at industrystock.de, for example.

The factories of the future

A few months ago, the first prototype of an intelligent factory was presented to the public, developed by the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence in collaboration with various companies and electronics manufacturers. This "smart factory" combines a large number of independent production and logistics modules that are all networked and can communicate with each other and make decisions independently to resolve any problems. In this prototype of an intelligent factory, humans are almost completely removed from the production process. In future, human workers will take on the role of assistants so that they can intervene quickly in the event of any problems.

Intelligent storage and transportation systems

Cellular transport systems, which are already being used and tested in some companies today, will play an important role in the logistics of the future. This innovative transportation technology is a system consisting of a large number of intelligent vehicles which, thanks to the latest technology, can independently detect their surroundings and move autonomously to their respective destinations without any human intelligence controlling or monitoring the entire process. These intelligent transport robots exchange information with each other and are also able to automatically accept incoming transport orders. As this innovative transport system works without a central control system, it is also less susceptible to potential problems.