Evolution of Industry 4.0 and Its Fundamental Characteristics

Industry 4.0 evolved as a  modern and advanced industrial  foundation by the proper integration of the old and/or new technologies to provide digital solutions for all aspects of human life. Industry 4.0 uses the concepts of digitalization, intelligentization for the increasingly individualized customer requirements. The soaring advancements in manufacturing processes at both intra and inter-organizational help in increasing productivity with the convergence of manufacturing and artificial intelligence technologies.  Industry 4.0 provides smart, effective and efficient digital solutions that help products and machines used for manufacturing become smarter so that communication between them can take place and mutual learning happens together. This advanced manufacturing is also called as Smart Manufacturing. With the integration of Robotics, Smart Manufacturing, Big-Data, Autonomous vehicles, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things, 3-D Printing, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber-Physical systems, Industrial Internet, etc., concepts in the industrial systems, many industries entertain sustainable operational excellence. The objective of this chapter is to furnish an overview of Industry 4.0 with the paradigm shift, features, and applications, enabling technologies, architectural design and economic potential that help in understanding the inner perspective of the term ‘Industry 4.0’.