Industry 4.0: review and proposal for implementing a smart factory

The word “Industry 4.0” was first introduced in 2011 at the Hannover Fair and created a wave of revolution in a wide variety of industries. Many organizations and companies want to improve manufacturing efficiency and competitiveness by employing some technologies of Industry 4.0. However, the relevance of those technologies to the goal of Industry 4.0 is often unclear, and the concept of Industry 4.0 is vague to many people. The paper clarifies the concept and driving factors of Industry 4.0 by reviewing the history of industrial revolutions. Then, some key technologies of Industry 4.0 and the state of smart factories are introduced. Besides, the steps to implement a smart factory are presented. Finally, this paper gives a case study from semiconductor manufacturing to demonstrate the benefits and application of a smart factory.