Just like its predecessors, this fourth industrial revolution (dubbed Industry 4.0 in 2011) is all about increasing productivity. Unlike the first three revolutions, today’s pivotal technologies hold forth the possibility to also improve efficiency, quality, and human satisfaction.

Steam power, electrical power, and basic computer tech were the prominent themes that brought us out of a world where everything was literally handmade. These technologies were all, more or less, multipliers of manual labor. Basically, it was total throughput that was enhanced. The modern assembly line may be the final contribution to these first revolutions and represents the pinnacle of the “more output without more input” modality.

But manufacturing is now a global competition, and it is fierce. Gaining market share—and often just getting a foot in the door of commerce—requires more than increased throughput. We need better ways of building things. So, manufacturing and process engineers across the globe are doing what humans are famous for: tinkering.

The modalities being tinkered with—artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, automation, and IIoT—comprise the backbone of this fourth industrial revolution—aka advanced manufacturing.

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