Internet of Things 3 The Fourth Industrial Revolution

Wherever we get down to work – on the factory floor, on the railway, or even if the work only involves doing the laundry or brushing our teeth – there is a silent revolution taking place. Thanks to the Internet, sensors and embedded systems, completely new opportunities are opening up for new combinations of mental, physical and mechanical work. The latest phase of what we call “Pervasive Computing” is currently underlying the far-reaching integration of Information Technology (it) and Operational Technology (ot). This integration, which knows many forms, produces profit in three ways that this report explores: by reducing costs as a consequence of predictive maintenance, and in greater speed and intelligence thanks to Machine-to-Machine communication and improved Human-Machine Interaction (hmi).
Industry is at the forefront of this development, which is generally regarded as the fourth stage of the Industrial Revolution. To exemplify the range of applications, Computerworld compared Boeing’s extensive use of sensor data in factory operations when building the Dreamliner to the American National Football League’s early stages of sensor use on players, the ball and helmets. Evidently there are differences in the integration – let’s call it maturity – between it and ot.