The Internet of Things, Industrie 4.0 and Smart Production – even if the name varies, it is always about the seamless connection of the digital and real worlds. As a thought leader and trailblazer for Industrie 4.0, KUKA is playing a decisive role in this shift towards networked, intelligent production.
From refrigerators to streetlights – every “thing” will soon be networked. Even today, almost every electronic device is able to communicate with the Internet. The digital world is an integral part of our lives.
Digitization is triggering rapid developments – for example, in genetics and nanotechnology as well as in robotics. These advancements are laying the foundation for a revolution that will be all-embracing. Digitally networked processes in Industrie 4.0 will make it possible to manufacture products at a low cost in a manner that is more flexible, energy-efficient, resource-saving and customized.
Today we are setting the course for a revolution that will be all-embracing.
In Industrie 4.0, it will be possible to order manufacturing processes and capacities at the click of a mouse, similar to music streaming. In manufacturing as a service, the performance of the machine is paid for. In the future, this will also hold true for individual production elements – robots for example. It will not be the machine itself that is purchased, but its output.
Clouds will enable companies to react flexibly to capacity requirements and goods flows. In the technology hub of Austin, Texas, KUKA is working on the fusion of the IT sector with the leading expertise in the fields of mechatronics and industrial manufacturing processes. This will make KUKA technologies even more user-friendly and provide new features in practical operation.
Industrie 4.0 and the Internet of Things will also affect the machines themselves. They will become increasingly sensitive, more autonomous, more mobile and easier to operate. Soon, robots will be intelligent enough to understand our language and gestures. They are increasingly evolving into assistants in factories, supporting humans in their work. Because a robot is better at certain things – such as precision and speed – it provides humans with entirely new capabilities.
It is evident that robots will become smaller, more mobile, networked and cognitive. They will accompany us in every area of our daily lives. Future generations – “robotic natives” – will see robots and their capabilities as services that can be requested via the Internet and adapted at the click of a mouse.
At KUKA, added value results from the interdisciplinary interplay between a wide range of different fields of expertise. As far as the Internet of Things and Industrie 4.0 are concerned, these include our technological expertise in the web, the cloud and mobile platforms. These areas merge with KUKA’s existing core competencies in mechatronics and automation. On this basis, we are now already creating intelligent production solutions which overcome the barriers existing between the digital world and the real world.
This exceptional customer added value is epitomized in what we call “Orange Intelligenz”.
