Industry 3.0: Electronics and then computers engineered this third revolution in the 1970s by replacing human labour and focussing on efficiency and productivity. This also raised the intrinsic fear of machines taking over the human jobs and depriving them of their livelihood, resulting in offshoring of production to low-cost economies. This revolution also triggered the concept of globalisation in the form of Industry 3.5.

Industry 4.0: We are now in the peaking phase of the fourth industrial revolution, based around the concept of automation and digitalisation. Modern IT concepts like AI technologies, connected devices, data analytics, cyber-physical systems, digital transformation, etc. are evolving from their infancy.

Industry 5.0: This iteration is fast picking up its pace with a broader perspective on human centric approach, to balance the fast paced mechanisation for sustainable and resilient manufacturing processes with societal value and wellbeing, akin to a far refined Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This tends to put people and planets before economics and profits.

Industrial revolution with human centric approach
Industry 5.0 operates basically on strategies of human centric approach, improved resilience and focussed sustainability. Real talented people are considered as effective assets instead of mere head counts. Companies focus on developing flexible and agile strategies to mitigate unexpected challenges while strengthening their resilience. In a global scenario, they tend to become more joined-up and become part of the solution for sustainability goals.

In a short period of time since the gradual evolution of Industry 5.0, there have been many instances where machines have been enabled to work collaboratively alongside human workers. Robots, for instance, have been trained to take over monotonous, exhausting and dangerous work from who would have been otherwise hapless workers. Medical science has jumped several strides to deliver precision and accuracy in micro and nano surgeries. These concepts have been extensively employed in grey areas like defence. Sports and games have greatly benefitted with the split-second information that they can derive from loads of real-time data.

The precision and repeatability of machines are complimented with the critical and adaptive thinking of humans. While many businesses are still in the process of incorporating the concepts of Industry 4.0, Industry 5.0 is only catalysing the advances with more traction towards achieving the goals.

However there are downsides for this revolution in terms of perception, willingness and acceptance in face of different kinds of anticipated and unexpected perils. Financial capabilities required for adaptation of the technologies is another major hurdle. Huge energy and extensive energy management is also necessary to power up the data guzzling machines. These challenges can be overcome with the solutions offered by the technology itself with smart and cognitive computing solutions.

Industry 5.0 is value driven and integrates humanity into the system to develop resilient processes to actively deliver solutions that can preserve resources, ensure social stability and create an overall worldwide sustainable environment.

Article Courtesy: VBR Technologies Pvt Ltd

For details contact, Mr Balaji Rao of VBR Technologies Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru, on Mob: +91 87222 22500, Email: balaji.rao@vbrtech.com, or visit www.vbrtech.com