The idea of a smart factory is the current driving force behind what can be seen as a 4
th Industrial revolution, better known as Industry 4.0. Industry 4.0 is geared towards manufacturing and in essence will utilize parts of similar concept named the internet of Things (IoT) which focuses on the overall cyber-physical systems (computation, networking, and physical processes). Safety is continually evolving and as a result can easily be integrated into the Industry 4.0 smart factory. For example, safety electronic devices communicating over a common industrial protocol such as Ethernet IP and linked to the Cloud over an IoT structured network for remote diagnostics and troubleshooting from across the country or even around the world.
Being a leader in designing and manufacturing of machine safeguarding solutions, it is natural that the Schmersal portfolio will offer smart components ready for Industry 4.0 integration.