INTRODUCTION

The fourth industrial revolution reflects the colliding of three worlds: The virtual world, the physical world and the digital world. Our smartphones can now connect us with everything around us. Our phones are virtual – we can have virtual meetings and connect with people all over the world that aren’t physically here. Our phones are physical. We can use them to scan a wall to read its angle and height. Our phones are digital. Everything we do on our phones is through digital platforms such as mobile clouds, big data, social media and the internet. In 2008, during the emergence of the first wave of Industry 4.0 technologies, these worlds were colliding for the first time.

This wave of change has happened in a very short period of time. In 2008, we published the Germany Digital Agenda report. The European Union accepted it six months later, all member countries applied it – Ireland will do so in 2020. It’s important to realise that there’s no fifth industrial revolution happening anytime soon. The fifth industrial revolution will probably come in 2050 or 2070 or later still. But when industrial revolutions occur, they fundamentally change everything – new industries emerge with new workforces requiring new skills. The first industrial revolution took place in the UK and across Europe. The second was led jointly by Europe and the US. The third was led by the US – automation and the internet. This time it is the silent revolution. It’s being led jointly by countries and corporations. This revolution is exponential, unlike the previous revolutions.

However, at an environmental level, it should be noted that in the last 15 years we have killed 25% of the world’s animals – ants, bees, and a lot of insect species. By 2025, we will have killed an additional 25% of animals. That means as a human race we’ll have killed 50% of animals within 30 years. That’s also exponential. That means that the exponential innovation – all components of the fourth industrial revolution are equally the centrepieces of a green revolution, a revolution that reflects a balance between humankind and our environment.

The exponential innovation that is defined as the fourth industrial revolution consists of 17 technology sets. These innovations are emerging in three different waves of maturity. For some industries, the first wave has already passed but it is still extremely relevant and is still emerging in other industries. This wave includes digitalisation, advanced analytics, cloud computing, reality robotics, and 3D printing.

The second wave is exponentially more impactful than the first wave. That means that the disruptive forces are bigger. This second wave includes artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, blockchain, smart automation, 6G communications and the future of energy.

The third wave of technologies will include quantum technology, cybersecurity, neurotechnology, nanotechnology, bioinformatics and advanced materials.

Our technology systems can be described as (1) simple, (2) complicated, (3) complex or (4) chaotic.

(1) With simple systems, everything is in binary logic. Basic sensors could be included within this classification.

(2) Complicated systems are more advanced, for example, imaging-based systems with sophisticated algorithms to interpret images.

(3) Complex systems better describe the world that we live in today where we have swarm intelligence and artificial intelligence. With this, we can manage chaos in data, supply chains or weather predictions. We can do things we could not do before because we’re entering into a new reality and altering how we approach things. These are the types of technologies that Ian and the Innopharma Technology team currently develop.

(4) Chaotic systems require the utilisation of quantum logic, but we haven’t reached a level of technology maturity enough to enable this yet. This fourth system type could be the most impactful and will require quantum levels of computing.

In order to adopt Industry 4.0 technologies within (bio)pharma, MedTech and Food Tech corporations, you need to learn to think for yourself. Industry 4.0 is always purpose-driven therefore you have to identify what benefits you want to achieve from it. Of course, process optimisation is a good first technology platform to embed because it can be implemented by external resources.

However, the real impact of process optimisation comes when we can implement a corporation’s individual workflows. In order to do this, it needs to be managed in-house. The only way we can apply Industry 4.0 within our companies is through new management skills and by developing new technical skills in our employees.

Fundamentally the fourth industrial revolution is ultimately about you as a human being. We interconnect with people and we will make a difference. We live in the greatest time ever in human history, but we are also the generation that future generations will look at if we are able to make the change. This exciting future requires you to collaborate and work together.