The fourth and fifth industrial revolutions

Unprecedented challenges have presented a difficulty to industrial operations over the last few years and the Covid-19 is one obvious example. In addition to its tremendous social impact, the virus also shattered the organisational and industrial processes in such a manner that these structures and processes might never be the same again.

It has not been long since the milestone of the Fourth industrial revolution, that is Industry 4.0. That is why most of us might be familiar what it is all about and familiar with some of its components. If not, then you might have heard the term being thrown around at one point or another. We will later delve into it thoroughly, nonetheless. But Industry 5.0 is a term that is unfamiliar but piques the interest, wouldn’t you agree? Although it is vastly still a concept, it has a lot of questions running through our minds. What do they have in common? How does Industry 5.0 differ from Industry 4.0? This article is meant to inform and enhance your knowledge about Industry 4.0 and the rising Industry 5.0, shedding some light on responses of some of these questions without being bias.

What is Industry 4.0?

Industry 4.0, also known as the fourth industrial revolution or the 4IR is, in simple terms, the fourth time human beings started using advanced technology to solve problems or taking advantage of advances in technology to find solutions to certain problems that were previously fought in incomputable or unsolvable ways. It involves the convergence of biotechnology, cyber-physical systems, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, etc. The digital technologies lead to increased automation, optimization of process improvements and most importantly new ways of solving problems in an efficient and responsive manner.

An example of Industry 4.0 technology is an Autonomous robot. This is a machine that is self-sufficient and requires no human intervention to perform tasks diligently, the tasks that were once performed manually. Other examples include goods such as clothing, food, weapons and even shelter. Even before these goods were manufactured for commercial purposes, they were produced for home and personal use, and they were made by hand. However, since the first industrial revolution up until now, there has been a meaningful change in how manufacturing processes are being carried out. Due to this, we are now able to produce items on a larger scale and within a limited period, saving us time and money.

As mentioned before, during Covid-19 many Industries were pushed into a disaster. Although the lockdown may have aided in limiting the spread of the virus, it brutally affected many countries economy and Industries. This factor played a key role in the rising popularity of Industry 5.0.

What is Industry 5.0?

In short, the concept of Industry 5.0 is focused on integrating both humans and robotics in the automated industrial environment. The strength of Industry 5.0 is the collaboration and complementarity between humans and machines. While Industry 4.0 marks an era of automation and robotics, Industry 5.0 puts the focus on people. With new inventions called “Co-bots”, which are collaborative robots that work alongside humans to increase efficiency, we can breathe out with the knowledge that human workers will not eventually become redundant. Instead, companies will start using accelerated innovation, elevating employee innovative abilities by automating time-wasting and labour-intensive tasks.

Allow me to illustrate. Industry 4.0 gave factories a better way to manufacture products by using autonomous robots that can be used to carry and move heavy load on a production line. This innovation truly is a remarkable breakthrough, but does it truly live up to its hype? We should also take into consideration that autonomous robots can be incredibly challenging to run, which means that there will be an increased need for skilled labour to keep and run the robots. This is the pivotal moment for the emergence of Industry 5.0, which will allow the use of autonomous robots that are not difficult to run to perform mundane tasks, while the humans can work collaboratively to focus more on more strategic efforts that cannot be automated. Therefore, by examining the benefits of collaboration between Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0, let us explore the distinctions that set them apart.

The difference between Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0

As we have previously touched upon, the digital transformation of manufacturing, production and related Industries is called Industry 4.0. It is the result of an initiative to revitalize the German manufacturing industry and it encompasses cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, etc. On the other hand, Industry 5.0 supplies a primary vision of an industry that goes beyond efficiency and productivity as sole goals and reinforces the industry’s roles and contribution to society. By this, I mean it prioritizes employee wellness in manufacturing and employs modern technologies to supply prosperity beyond jobs and growth. It adds to the existing Industry 4.0 approach by putting research and innovation specifically at the service of the transition to more sustainable human-centric and resilient Industries. Here is a more in depth and vivid explanation of how these two differ:

• 1.While Industry 4.0 is focused on connecting machines, Industry 5.0 focuses on delivering customer experience. This means that man and machine work together to increase employee wellness and job creation while also developing the flexibility to offer customers individualised and interactive products.
• 2.Industry 4.0 focuses on mass customization, meaning it combines the flexibility and personalization of custom-made products with low unit costs associated with mass production. Whereas Industry 5.0 focuses on hyper-customization or hyper-personalization, meaning it combines curation with personalization to create customized user experience specifically based on what the user prefers. For example, with Industry 4.0 some furniture companies offer mass customization through the choices of fabrics and colours of upholstery and pieces of furniture that can be assembled in diverse ways. But, with Industry 5.0 a user is given the opportunities to create their own shade of colours that they want their furniture to be instead of choosing from the available colours or producing their preferred fabric.
• 3.With Industry 4.0, workforce is distanced from factories while, with Industry 5.0 workforce is brought back to factories. This means that instead of factories being fully automated or instead of them using only robotics to carry out production, humans will be the ones who help keep, run and work alongside this automated robotics.
• 4.Industry 4.0 forms of smart products and Industry 5.0 forms of experience activated (interactive) products. An example of a smart product would be the remote camera, to a great degree these remote cameras supply extra protection and security, but these are very costly. An invention of Industry 5.0 would be an automatic recognition of human speech and gestures.

Indeed, Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 are two distinct concepts with distinctive characteristics, but they both have significant contributions to offer in the realm of industrial advancement. They are both driving significant changes in the tech industry, ushering in new opportunities and advancements.

How Industry 4.0 and 5.0 are driving the tech industry

Industry 4.0 and 5.0 are characterized by the integration of automation and robotics into various industrial processes. This has led to the invention of, as mentioned previously, collaborative robots, which work alongside humans. The tech industry is at the forefront of inventing and manufacturing these robots, creating and advancing job opportunities. They also lead to the customization of everything in detail, meaning new manufacturing methods will allow for a significant increase in personalized solutions/tailored solutions. Another way these Industries are ruling over is by decreasing the shipping and increasing the supply.

In conclusion, the arrival of Industry 4.0 and the emergence of Industry 5.0 have proven to be milestones in the evolution of manufacturing and production systems. While industry 4.0 emphasized the invention and use of automation and robotics, Industry 5.0 takes it up a notch by involving human effort and intervention. Industry 4.0 has led to an increase in productivity and reduction in costs, but it has also led to a redundancy of humans in the working environment, especially in factories. While Industry 5.0 answers these questions by emphasizing and recognizing human capabilities and strengths and aims to combine these abilities with advanced technology. By effectively utilizing Industry 4.0 and fully embracing the capabilities of Industry 5.0, we can genuinely unleash the next level of productivity and success around the globe.