Preparing for the next 'industrial revolution'

摘要

Industry 4.0 was high on the agenda of lots of exhibitors at the Hannover Messe this year, as Suzanne Gill found out. Referred to by many as the 'fourth industrial revolution' the concept of Industry 4.0 is to merge the virtual world with the real world, bringing IT and production closer together. Horizontal integration, from product to production, is one of its major ambitions. Industry 4.0 now also forms the cornerstone of the German government's high-tech strategy to secure the competitiveness of German industry.