Industry 5.0 is about to usher in a new era, marked by significant improvements in terms of the work we do and the technologies we use. While we're still immersed in the fourth industrial revolution, the future of industry is slowly but surely taking shape.
We're already talking about Industry 5.0, which brings a new way of thinking about the relationship between intelligent machines and humans.
In this article, we take a look back at the great periods that have marked the industry as well as a glimpse of what lies ahead with Industry 5.0.
Dating from the 1760s, the first industrial revolution marks an important turning point in history. Indeed, this period corresponds to the transition from classical craftsmanship to new manufacturing processes. New sources of fuel such as steam or coal accelerated the adoption of machines.
This upheaval made it possible to produce goods in greater quantities, especially in the textile industry where machines generated a yield up to eight times greater than what could be obtained by hand. The first industrial revolution also brought new modes of transportation such as the ship and the steam locomotive.
It was in the 19th century that major discoveries overturned existing manufacturing processes. Electricity, gas and oil were the new energy sources powering production plants.
The second industrial revolution led to the creation of the combustion engine. It also led to the development of the steel trade, chemical synthesis and means of communication such as the telegraph and telephone.
Finally, the inventions of theautomobile and theairplane in the early 20th century are the reason why, to this day, the second industrial revolution is considered the most important.
Around 1970, the third industrial revolution involved the use of electronics and computer technology (information technology), making it possible toautomate part of the production chain. Certain programmable robots are now capable of performing all kinds of tasks, without the need for human intervention. As a result, manufacturing methods are progressing considerably, and this is accelerating thanks to Internet access within factories.
This period is also marked by the use of renewable energies. Indeed, part of the third industrial revolution is based on the energy transition, thus abandoning coal in favor of cleaner energy sources.
The fourth industrial revolution is the era of intelligent production machines, capable ofexchanging information, triggering actions and controlling themselves autonomously without human intervention.
This exchange of information is made possible by the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) as we know it today. Industry 4.0 is characterized in particular by:
To read about this topic: "Industry 4.0: How to Ensure the Competitiveness of Smart Factories in France?"
Barely 10 years after the term "Industry 4.0" first appeared, Industry 5.0 is already on the horizon, defining the challenges that tomorrow's factories will have to meet thanks to the advances it brings.
While Industry 4.0 focuses on the transition to smart factories, driven by data exchange, Industry 5.0 is set to refocus attention on people.
So how does Industry 5.0 differ from the factory floor as we know it today?
Firstly, Industry 5.0 promotes a more ethical vision, integrating factors such as sustainability, the environment and social aspects. In Industry 5.0, rather than basing corporate strategy on the logic of production performance, it is people who will be the cornerstone of the plant's competitiveness.
Secondly, Industry 5.0 envisions tomorrow's factories equipped with technologies designed to go even further in improving working conditions, such as mental and physical fatigue detectors at the workstation.
Finally, as part of Industry 5.0, environmental considerations are becoming a key issue. We can envisage new methods of waste recovery, the use of renewable energies or the integration of sensors to reduce energy consumption.
Thus, Industry 5.0 can be characterized by:
With the acceleration of technological innovation, revolutions at the heart of industry could follow one another in rapid succession over the next 10 years and beyond. Whereas the first three industrial revolutions took decades to materialize, today's revolutions last only as long as it takes for them to be adopted by a majority.
The development of Industry 5.0 is more an upgrade of Industry 4.0 than a revolution in its own right. As artificial intelligence improves and robots become increasingly autonomous, the interaction between computers, robots and humans should become clearer, leading to a revival and improved attractiveness for industrial professions.
