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It is no secret that the manufacturing landscape is undergoing rapid change. Amid a shifting geopolitical environment, rising input costs, and unpredictable demand patterns, manufacturers across industries are facing increasing complexity. Industries such as automotive, transportation, electronics, and chemicals stand to face significant disruptions.
Reimagining intelligence in manufacturing
Industry 4.0 brought tremendous advancement in automation, sensors, and connectivity. However, in today’ s environment, the need is not just to connect machines, but to enable them- and the people who operate them- to sense, decide, and act in real time. Industry 4.5 doesn’ t replace Industry 4.0; it elevates it. It’ s a necessary evolution that brings intelligence to the edge, enabling a new generation of factories that are not only connected, but cognitive.
Industry 4.5 is not a detour; it is a deliberate, necessary phase of evolution. It advances the foundations laid by Industry 4.0, amplifying intelligence, adaptability, and human-centricity. It’ s a space where digital twins, generative AI, physical AI, and agentic AI converge as enablers of transformation.
Digital twins: The living blueprint of the future
At the core of this transformation is the digital twin. Once a peripheral technology, it has now emerged as a strategic asset. Today’ s digital twins are intelligent, realtime data fabrics that simulate, predict, and optimize everything from individual assets to entire supply chains. They enable enterprises to model future scenarios with high precision, anticipate disruptions, and take proactive decisions. In essence, digital twins transform how manufacturing thinks and acts.
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