2015 12th International Conference on Fuzzy Systems and Knowledge Discovery (FSKD)
Industry 4.0: Towards Future Industrial
Opportunities and Challenges
Keliang Zhou
College of Electrical Engineering & Automation
Jiangxi University of Science and Technology
Ganzhou, China
Abstract—Industry 4.0 (the fourth industrial revolution)
encapsulates future industry development trends to achieve more
intelligent manufacturing processes, including reliance on Cyber-
Physical Systems (CPS), construction of Cyber-Physical
Production Systems (CPPS), and implementation and operation
of smart factories. This paper introduces relevant aspects of
Industry 4.0 in relation to strategic planning, key technologies,
opportunities, and challenges. Strategic planning includes
construction of a CPS network, discussion of two major themes
which are based on the smart factory and intelligent production,
achieving three integrations (horizontal integration, vertical
integration and end-to-end integration) and achieving eight plans
which consist of the formulation of system standardization,
efficient management etc. Finally, it referred to the
enlightenment for China’s manufacturing industries, to build
China’s Industry 4.0.
Keywords-Industry 4.0; CPS; CPPS; cloud computing; big data;
intelligent manufacturing
I. INTRODUCTION
The “Industrial 4.0” concept appeared first in an article
published by the German government in November 2011, as a
high-tech strategy for 2020. After mechanization,
electrification and information, the fourth stage of
industrialization was named “Industry 4.0”. In April 2013, the
term “Industry 4.0” appeared again at an industrial fair in
Hannover Germany, and quickly rose as the German national
strategy. In recent years, “Industry 4.0”has been widely
discussed, and has become a hotspot for most global industries
and the information industry. Industry 4.0 will be a new
industrial revolution, which will have a great influence on
international industry. Since China’s manufacturing is
currently in a state of industrial transformation and upgrading,
Industry 4.0 provides China with more opportunities and
challenges that we should be focussing on.
II. STRATEGIES AND CONTENTS OF INDUSTRY 4.0
Germany is one of the most competitive global
manufacturing industries, and is an equipment manufacturing
industry’s global leader in many fields, including BMW,
Porsche and Volkswagen in the automotive industry, the sports
brand Adidas, the electrical and electronics company Siemens,
and so on. In response to the European debt crisis, the German
Government presented a strategy for Industry 4.0, in order to
further consolidate and promote global German manufacturing
clout. Industry 4.0 is considered to be the fourth industry
978-1-4673-7682-2/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE
Taigang Liu, Lifeng Zhou
College of Electrical Engineering & Automation
Jiangxi University of Science and Technology
Ganzhou, China
emerging from an industrial revolution, which is led by
intelligent manufacturing. The concept of Industry 4.0 is based
on the integration of information and communication
technologies and industrial technology, and is mainly
dependent on building a Cyber-Physical System (CPS) to
realize a digital and intelligent factory, in order to promote
manufacturing to become more digital, information-led,
customized, and green. The purpose of Industry 4.0 is to build
a highly flexible production model of personalized and digital
products and services, with real-time interactions between
people, products and devices during the production process.
For example, a factory that accepts consumer orders and
directly produces, and ships the required product will dispense
of separate sales and circulation channels, which will have a
strong impact on the traditional e-commerce sales model.
Industry 4.0 will affect not only German industry, or even
international industrial development but will become a driving
force [1] which will change traditional methods of industrial
production, and guide future manufacturing. The future of
manufacturing will see industrial production systems become
more intelligent through use of digital systems. Meanwhile,
there will be more so-called knowledge-based factories and
thinking type factories which will greatly improve efficiency
and competitiveness in factories. Germany’s electrical industry
association has predicted that Industry 4.0 will increase
industrial productivity by 30%.
Within the first three industrial revolutions, humans have
witnessed and created mechanical, electrical and information
technology, which were aimed at improving productivity of
industrial processes. The first industrial revolution improved
efficiency through the use of hydropower, increased use of
steam power and development of machine tools; the second
industrial revolution brought electricity and mass production
(assembly lines); the third industrial revolution further
accelerated automation using electronics and information
technology, and now the fourth industrial revolution is
emerging which is led by CPS technology to integrate the real
world with the information age for future industrial
development. Figure 1 displays the four stages of the industrial
revolution.
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 Degree of
complexity
From Industry 1.0 to Industry 4.0
Fourth industrial
Third industrial
based on Cyber
Physical Systems
Second industrial revolution:
revolution: the information age
First industrial
revolution: the age of electricity
the age of steam
In 1969, the first concept was officially
In 1870, the
programmable
In 1784, the
first machinery
first production
logic controller
line Cincinnati
(PLC)
loom slaughterhouse
1800 1900 2000
Source: DFKI(2011)
Figure 1. The four stages of the industrial revolution
In order to better transform from Industry 3.0 to Industry
4.0, Germany has developed a strategic plan to implement
Industry 4.0.The main points of this plan can be summarized as:
building a network, researching two major themes, realization
of three integrations, and achievement of eight planning
objectives [2].
1) Building a network
A specialized network must be built known as a Cyber-
Physical System (CPS), which is the core foundation of
Industry 4.0. The CPS connects all physical devices to the
Internet, and incorporates five functions: computing,
communications, precision control, coordination and autonomy.
Through integration of the virtual world and the physical world,
smart products and smart production are made possible.
2) Researching two major themes
The smart factory and intelligent production are the two
themes under research. The “smart factory” is a key component
of future intelligent infrastructure, which focuses on intelligent
manufacturing systems and processes, and implementation of
networked distributed production facilities. “Intelligent
production” focuses on human-computer interaction, logistics
management, 3D printing and other advanced technologies,
which can be applied to the entire industrial process to create a
highly flexible, personalized and networked industrial chain. In
a smart factory of the future, there will be not just human-
computer interaction, but also things-to-things interaction,
which aims to create better services to meet customers’ needs.
The combination of smart devices with ICT (Information
Communication Technology) is also the basis of these two
major themes.
3) Realization of three integrations
The three integrations are horizontal integration, vertical
integration, and end-to-end integration. “Horizontal
integration” refers to integration between a resource and an
information network within the value chain, in order to achieve
the seamless cooperation between enterprises and provide a
real-time product and service. “Vertical integration” refers to
networked manufacturing systems within the intelligent
factories of the future and personalized custom manufacturing
as alternatives to traditional fixed production processes, such as
assembly-line production. “End-to-end integration” means
engineered numerical integration across the entire value chain,
which is implemented on the premise of every terminal having
revolution:
a digital value chain with integration between different
companies, which will maximize customization. Industry 4.0
(CPS) enables ubiquitous sensors, embedded terminal systems,
intelligent control systems, and communication facilities to
form an intelligent network within the CPS. Interconnection
may be man to man, man to machine, machine to machine or
service to service, in order to achieve complete horizontal,
In 2013, the Industry 4.0 vertical and end-to-end integration.
presented
4) Achievement of eight planning objectives
Eight planning objectives form the basis of achieving
2013 Timeline Industry 4.0. The specific content of these objectives is as
follows:
z Standardization of systems and building a reference
architecture. A set of uniform standards needs to be
developed so that a network between different factories
and companies can be connected and integrated.
z Efficient management. Factories of the future will have
large and complex systems which will need to be
efficiently managed. Appropriate plans need to be made
and an explanatory model needs to be developed to
optimize the management.
z Establishment of a comprehensive and reliable industrial
broadband infrastructure. Industry 4.0 enforces strict
criteria on communication networks, and its
communication networks must meet these criteria and be
reliable, comprehensive and of high quality.
z Safety and security. It should be ensured that the
production facilities and product itself do not pose a threat
to people and the environment, while preventing product
misuse or unauthorized access to production facilities.
z Organization and design of work. With content, processes,
and changes in the environment, making higher demands
on production management, to achieve humane,
automation, green production and management.
z Staff training and continuing professional development.
Enterprises have a responsibility and obligation to train
their employees. It is necessary to establish lifelong
learning and continuing professional development
programs to help workers cope with new demands from
the jobs and skills.
z Establishing a regulatory framework. It is clear that new
innovations bring new problems, such as enterprise data,
liability, personal data and trade restrictions. There is a
requirement for standards, model contracts, agreements,
auditing and other appropriate means of control.
z Improving the efficiency of resource use. The use of new
materials, new processes, new technologies and other
measures can improve the resource use efficiency, while
reducing and balancing resource utilization on the
environment caused by pollution and destruction.
In summary, the core of the German “Industry 4.0” strategy
is based on intelligent manufacturing using CPS technology, to
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shift centralized production towards decentralized production,
to shift popular products towards personalized products and to
increase users participations, so that each user can experience
the fun of creating products.
III. KEY TECHNOLOGIES FOR INDUSTRY 4.0
Industry 4.0 is a complex and flexible system involving
digital manufacturing technology, network communication
technology, computer technology, automation technology and
many other areas. On the one hand, the basis of its
implementation is based on digital design and simulation,
highly automated manufacturing processes, production data
management networking and, production process management,
converting the whole process to access of knowledge and the
laws of management, mining, analysis, judgment and decision-
making. On the other hand, Industry 4.0 is based on the CPS,
which uses computing, communications and control
technologies in tight collaboration to achieve real-time sensing
intelligent production systems, dynamic control, and
information services. We discuss the key technologies of
Industry 4.0, which mainly refer to the CPS, the mobile
Internet and the Internet of things, cloud computing, big data
and advanced analytical techniques.
A. From CPS to CPPS (Cyber-Physical Production Systems)
The concept of CPS was first defined in 2006 by Dr. James
Truchard, who introduces the concept that the virtual world
and the physical world can be merged by CPS. In fact, a CPS
is an integrated system of computing, communications and
control [3, 4]. Industry 4.0 makes use of CPS technology to
build a CPPS [5, 6] platform ( as shown in Figure 2), which
connects virtual space with the physical world, to enable
equipment in a smart factory to be more intelligent, thus
creating better production conditions enabling smart
production.
Figure 2. CPPS platform in Industry 4.0
Li jie believes that Industry 4.0 is actually equivalent to
CPS [7]. In some sense, both CPS and Industry 4.0 have a
similar role in the development of industries of the future, as
both promote industrial innovation. As CPS technology
develops [8, 9], it will occupy an important position in many
fields, including motor vehicle manufacturing, machinery and
heavy industry, iron and steel metallurgy, energy production,
and transport and logistics.
B. Mobile Internet and Internet of Things Technologies
Since the birth of the Internet, interconnection between
computers has become a reality. The mobile Internet has
achieved communication and contact between people across
large distances. Both have changed the way that people
interact, and the Internet and the mobile Internet have quickly
infiltrated and influenced modern industrial systems.
Germany’s Industry 4.0 strategy has observed that we will
make more use of the Internet and Internet of things for
interactions between human and machines enabling intelligent
manufacturing and producing the fourth revolution. As
computing power and the storage capacity of smart mobile
devices increases, mobile terminals and mobile APP will be
used in the near future to design, manufacture and manage the
industrialization process, and will become the “new normal”
for the industry. As shown in Figure 3, smart mobile terminal
applications in industry[10], can easily control and monitor
intelligent processes in factories [11].
Figure 3. Smart mobile terminal applications in industry [10]
As network communication technology develops, there is a
vision that things will be able to “talk” to each other, blending
the virtual world with the physical world, which has emerged
as the Internet of things (IoT). The IoT includes radio
frequency identification (RFID) devices, infrared sensors,
global positioning systems, laser scanners and other
information sensing devices and other arbitrary objects, which
can be connected to the Internet according to an agreed
protocol, for information exchange and communication, in
order to realize intelligent identification, location, tracking,
monitoring, and management [12]. The role of IoT in Industry
4.0 is also indispensable.
C. Cloud Computing Technology
Cloud computing has originated from a search engine
platform, and is a computing technology that can offer low
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cost and high performance. It is currently an important
platform that provides various Internet services. Virtualization
technology provides cloud computing with flexible extensions,
dynamic allocation, resource sharing and other features. The
cloud computing model provides services to the user including
software, hardware, platforms, and other IT infrastructure
resources as required. The user simply uses resources
depending on application needs, relying on on-demand access
to computers and storage systems.
D. Big Data and Advanced Analysis Techniques
In manufacturing, one or more microprocessors may be
installed on multiple machines to collect production data.
Ubiquitous sensors and microprocessors have generated a
huge source of data with a size beyond traditional scales.
Conventional database technology has difficulties in
completing the capture, storage, management and analysis of
this massive data collection. In terms of management,
manufacturing companies need to manage a wide range of
data, involving large amounts of structured data and
unstructured data, such as product data, operational data, value
chain data, and external data. As mass customization and
network collaboration is developed, manufacturing companies
will also need to accept many consumers’ personalized data
from the Web in real time, while also managing more types of
relevant data. Big data technology is using new processing
modes to gain valuable information quickly from various data
types, in order to achieve in-depth understanding, gain insight
and make discoveries for accurate decision making. In future
industry, workshop equipment within the CPS will integrate
sensor data and enterprise information systems. During this
process, large volumes of data will be uploaded to a cloud
computing data center to store, analyze, and form decisions,
which will guide the production process. Big data and big data
analysis will bring a range of benefits to manufacturing
companies, such as optimizing processes, reducing costs, and
improving operational efficiencies.
IV. CHALLENGES FOR INDUSTRY 4.0
It is not an easy thing to achieve Industry 4.0, and it is likely
to take ten or more years to realize. Currently, Industry 4.0 is a
vision for the future, because it involves many aspects, and
faces many types of difficulties and challenges, including
scientific challenges, technological challenges, economic
challenges, social problems and political issues (see in Figure
4). In this paper, we mainly discuss some of science and
technology challenges, such as the development of smart
devices, the construction of the network environment, big data
analysis and processing, and digital production. A brief
introduction of these challenges is given as follows:
Figure 4. Different challenges of Industry 4.0
A. The development of smart devices
A factory operating with Industry 4.0 technologies is more
intelligent than any factory we have ever known, and will
require more intervention from artificial devices (including
robots), reducing the involvement of employees. However,
different factories need different smart device configurations,
and smart device development requires much time and money
before it can be put into production in an Industry 4.0 factory.
B. The construction of the network environment
The network environment in Industry 4.0 mainly refers to a
CPPS platform using CPS technology. Building the CPPS
platform [13] is a complex project that is currently limited by
various conditions, such as CPS challenges, including the
following four aspects [14].
1) Cooperation between different systems
Firstly, the collaborative relationship between physical
systems and computing systems should be considered. From
the perspective of the physical environment, a CPS has spatio-
temporal properties and computing systems need to guarantee
accurate and real-time decision-making and process control by
the event handler in order to ensure accurate physical system
control in time and space. Then, synergy between the physical
system and the information network system needs to be
considered. Information network systems achieve ubiquitous
communication access, which enables physical devices to
exchange information. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a
collaborative model between the physical system and the
information network system for qualitative and quantitative
analysis. Finally, we need to consider computing systems and
information network system synergy. Due to the security of
physical devices which have object-oriented requirements, and
reliability, they are essentially different from a general-
purpose computing system. Thus, it is necessary to study the
dynamics of the physical system and each discrete and
sequential, reconfigurable computing systems and the abstract
system of information networks.
2) CPS modeling and model integration
The CPS model should be considered by first showing how
computing and physical processes interact and their behavior
when merged. A typical CPS model needs to consider the
physical environment, software and hardware platforms, and
network models as well as any further scheduling software
required, network delays, power consumption and other
functional and non-functional factors. Secondly, the
characteristics of the CPS itself should be considered, which
contains both physical components and computing parts, so
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involves several different types of computing models. The
calculation process uses discrete logical time while the
physical process uses continuous physical time. Events in the
computing world usually refer to messages, exceptions or
interrupts, but events in the physical world probably refer to
the position, shape, and other physical properties. It is difficult
to use a variety of computing models to build a CPS modeling
with a unified framework. Finally, it is necessary to develop a
new CPS modeling language to adapt to the complex
environment. We depend on the traditional model and the
description of CPS, but the description of CPS uncertainties
remains. CPS modeling and model integration are still a huge
challenge.
3) The integration of CPS
The integration of CPS includes integration of
heterogeneous components, integration of methods, and
integration of tools. The first challenge is how to design a
flexible interface to support different heterogeneous
components, as well as supporting adaptive combination
between components. Secondly, a CPS includes many fields
which require careful consideration, since each field has a
self-contained set of models, languages and methods, which
makes it difficult to extract commonality between
heterogeneous systems in a CPS. Finally, the design and
development of CPS need a complete tool chain to support
CPS modeling, simulation, analysis, synthesis, and the
development of various computing and communications
components.
4) Verification and testing of CPS
Although the combination of different heterogeneous
components makes the CPS behavior extremely complex, the
CPS plays an important role in the entire system. Therefore,
the CPS needs full rigorous validation and testing before
application in order to ensure that the system is designed to
meet various demands. However, there are no uniform
standards and specifications for verification and testing of the
CPS.
C. Big data analysis and processing
All of the elements in Industry 4.0, including the equipment,
machines, production, applications, products and services will
continue to generate data, which by nature is large and
complex. Efficient real-time integration and analysis of data in
the industrial production process should be ensured in order to
optimize resources in the production chain. Meanwhile, we
have to address the fact that big data introduces enterprise
information protection and privacy issues, such as information
security issues. At present, research and applications in the
field of industrial big data are not particularly mature, and all
areas from hardware to software, need further improvement.
D. Digital manufacturing
Digital manufacturing construction should maximize the use
of digitization, simulation and Internet technologies, to
achieve hardware integration, software integration and a
consolidated database. Many technologies, management,
standards, and other difficulties will be encountered during the
implementation process [15]. As the digital world and the
physical world become integrated, network security issues are
becoming increasingly serious for the digital manufacturing.
There are many problems to be solved in relation to how
network security can be ensured, and how cyber espionage can
be dealt with to prevent hackers and other cyber crimes caused
by the infringement [16].
V. CONCLUSION
In the era of Industry 4.0, global manufacturing has many
opportunities and challenges. At the same time, Industry 4.0
introduces some implications for China’s manufacturing.
Although China has become the world's second largest
economy, there are some problems with China’s industry,
such as uneven development, low productivity, and overall
production levels that still lag behind developed countries.
Development of China’s manufacturing industry needs to be
combined with China’s own situation, and can not adopt the
same model of industrial development used for progressive
industrial development in Western countries. China should
develop its own industrial development model, namely the
parallel development of Industry 2.0, Industry 3.0 and Industry
4.0. in order to a achieve the development model, four
transitions require completion: factor-driven to innovation-
driven change; a move from low-cost competitive advantage
to competitive advantages in quality and efficiency; a move
from resource consumption, pollutant emissions and more
extensive manufacturing to green manufacturing changes; and
development from production manufacturing to service-
oriented manufacturing. The development of China’s
manufacturing is diversified and it is unrealistic that all
industries can reform to an Industrial 4.0 upgrade. The key lies
in innovation, including technology innovation, knowledge
innovation and management innovation which will lead to
China’s manufacturing developments being based on Chinese
wisdom, building China’s version of “Industrial 4.0” to
increase contribution to global industries.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank the National Natural
Science Foundation of China (No. 61363011), and the Science
and Technology Project of Jiangxi, China (No. GJJ13429) for
their support in this research.
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