by Gerry Bryant, Countapulse Controls
Automatic and multifunctional sensors and intelligent controls are relied upon more than ever by manufacturing enterprises.
Published in:
Electricity+Control, April 2017 (pages26 – 20)
Enquiries: Gerry Bryant. Email Bryant@countapulse.co.za
As manufacturing enterprises become increasingly automated, tighter control will have to be exercised over processes and equipment to ensure high quality, low cost output and minimum waste. The ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ – with sensing technology at its heart – is paving the way to achieving this.
Automatic and multifunctional sensors and intelligent controls are today relied upon more than ever by manufacturing enterprises, on both the process and enterprise levels. The design, manufacture, optimisation and effective deployment of these systems will be critical to industry in the next century.
But what is the Fourth Industrial Revolution and how does it compare to previous ‘revolutions’ in the way our industries have evolved?
Take note
• The First Industrial Revolution comprised Mechanisation which was a new way of working; this made way for the Second Industrial Revolution, which could be described as a ‘commitment to productivity’.
• The Third Revolution came with the advent of automation in industry.
• The Fourth Revolution shows a shift towards Machine-to Machine communication as the automation of processing steps becomes more complex.
Download the full article on Sensors play key role in pushing industry into Fourth Age in PDF format.
