ENGLISH VERSION
Technologies Additive Manufacturing The increasing sophistication of 3D printing systems and the arrival of real-time data will shake production chains up. ‘Digital Twin’ Digital information processing will allow for the creation of a virtual version of each industry, on which projections and improvements can be carried out in view of their efficacy before translating them into the physical world. The Landing of Artificial Intelligence As the system of information capture and organization of the company’s information improves, the way will be cleared up for systems capable of making decisions autonomously to enter the production chain. Virtual and augmented reality Two technologies linked for decades to the leisure and entertainment sector that can shake the industry’s operations up and turn production into a video game as they nurture from information in real time.
To ensure the success of these initiatives, greater complicity of public investment will be necessary. It is the key for this kind of projects «to allow for companies with lower levels of funding to be able to implement them». Joaquín Vilaplana, from AIJU, agrees that something is changing: «Over the last years, if something
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has happened in the Administrations, is that the focus in manufacturing is constant. Before, the development of the research it had to aim at excellence, with the emphasis in technique; but now the goal is that results reach the market, the focus is on production».
Administration involved Industry 4.0 must have solid foundations, emphasizes Joaquín Vilaplana. And «our industrial network starts from a reality that is what it is, what we need is a good base, a stable high-speed connection without a bottleneck». Until this is solved and as long as industrial parks do not have access to that optical fiber, we are in danger. That is why he points to the Administrations that are the ones which «can work and do a lot» so that they can provide the necessary solutions for one of the barriers to change. Time is running. The representative of AIJU recalls the data obtained through the Digital Innovation Hub in which the manufacturing sectors such as Platecma work in collaboration with other agencies and institutes such as Ivace and ITI. «In northern Europe the rate of digitization is around 60 or 70% and it gets worse as you move southwards. Here we are speaking of something closer to 10% or 15%». Miguel Davia, from INESCOP, speaks of another issue that is the responsibility of the Administration: the training programs. «They have to be readapted so that those completing the plans have a relationship with industry 4.0», he claims. Active consumer Nowadays the consumer is more efficient and conscious, recalls David Martinez. For the Head of
the Department of Information and Communication Technologies at AINIA, this means a radical change that influences eating habits. The greater connection between machines cannot make us forget that people’s connection already exist. «That they have a lot of technology at their disposal and more information to make up their minds, they have a greater knowledge and special needs». That means that the challenge is to satisfy this new buyer «and provide he with an offer of food according to that demand and that constant change in what he wants». Social networks are the ultimate example of interconnecting people and of the digitalization of their opinions. They represent a challenge and, at the same time, an advantage that can be exploited through the study of data. AINIA provides companies «with information systems that allow to collect conversations in real time. This way, we can anticipate trends changes and possible market shifts» which, in turn, gives the manufacturer an advantage since he can re-consider the path to follow. The connection must be complete. With two-way knowledge flows. AINIA is working in systems that tend to a relationship «inside and outside the company and that have the consumer at the core of the innovation process». Another challenge has to do with «the appearance of new operators and the ownership of the interfaces». Once again, the language control used by production systems can make the difference. David Martinez describes a new scenario where «the competition scheme is changing». An example of this is the case of producers who directly sell on line to the final consumer. So, companies require new production models and a
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