Digitalization / IIoT / Industry 4.0 – Discover what’s behind it

Dipl.-Ing. Jens Hundrieser

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is the use of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in manufacturing IIoT incorporates machine learning and Big Data technology, harnessing the sensor data, machine-to-machine communication and automation technologies that have existed in industrial settings for years . In manufacturing specifically, IIoT holds great potential for quality control, sustainable and green practices, supply chain traceability and overall supply chain efficiency [1]. Generally speaking, “Big Data” describes sets of data that companies produce and that are so huge that traditional methods of processing do not work on them. The term also often implies that these data sets are stored in an unstructured way and on separate systems. The term “Industry 4.0” was first used in 2011 during the Hannover Fair in Germany. It is part of a project within the high-tech strategy of the German government that focuses on the computerization of manufacturing. The basic idea of the name is, that the use of water and steam power mechanized production and was the first industrial revolution. The second industrial revolution introduced electricity and mass production. And finally, the digital revolution which improved the production process with electronics and IT [2]. Digitization basically means the conversion of certain information into digital data. But in recent years it has become the name of the general trend towards the usage of process data to optimize performance of companies. Digitization is of crucial importance to data processing, storage and transmission, because it “allows information of all kinds in all formats to be carried with the same efficiency and also intermingled” [3]. Digitalization is the integration of digital technologies into everyday life by the digitization of everything that can be digitized.