PEOPLE ARE BACK AT CENTERSTAGE

The term Industry 4.0 denotes a high degree of automation that connects virtual and physical worlds of industry, in order to increase productivity and efficiency.

WHY INDUSTRY 5.0?

Especially due to the need to rethink the role of the person in modern industry. In the concept of Industry 4.0, the person plays a rather passive role, but in Industry 5.0 the person is put back at the very center of the processes, in an anthropocentric vision.

In fact, this new model of industry revolves around the concept of custom production and responsibility in production processes, where the "human touch" is brought back into the manufacturing industry and where it is machines that adapt to the characteristics of humans and not vice versa.

It is based on principles of humanity, environmental sustainability and social benefits. It recognizes industry's potential to achieve social goals, which are not limited to development and employment. Through technological innovation, industry can enact sustainable production that creates wealth while respecting the constraints of the planet, fostering the welfare of workers and meeting their need to be trained for new and increased skills.

WHAT IS INDUSTRY 5.0 FOCUSED ON?

In the Industry 5.0 approach, there are 5 main focus areas for analyzing and improving the supply chain, business innovation and digital transformation, human-machine connection, and smart and sustainable manufacturing driven by Big Data, AI and IoT.

Specifically, with respect to Industry 4.0, this new model shifts its goals from pure optimization of manufacturing systems to sustainable, human-centered and socially beneficial production.

Technological innovation and development is no longer considered only through technical-economic but also socio-centric assessments based on safety and human capital growth.

We introduce using more enabling technologies that facilitate and streamline person-machine interaction, support operability and skill growth of operators.

We therefore move from purely economic systems to "sustainably integrated systems" where the analysis and use of data takes place within a more sustainable, social and human vision.

WHAT ARE THE CHANGES IN OPERATIONS?

First, the shared work environment of people and robots, or rather cobots. Collaborative robots "feel" the human operator. They understand the goals and the tasks that need to be performed, and interact with the operator as they perform the task. In particular, cobots take over monotonous 3D operations: dangerous, dirty, and dull, thereby also reducing the staff's health risks.

In this perimeter of collaboration, there is an increased use of artificial intelligence and augmented reality, which, while facilitating the work of the human operators, may expose them to greater risks in terms of data security and privacy.

Data remains a central issue even in Industry 5.0, and unfortunately it is an underdeveloped topic, but one that is crucial in the journey toward an industry based on integration and collaboration through AI, IoT and Big Data technologies.