As production processes accelerate and evolve by orders of magnitude, a vision is developing of a manufacturing environment that organises itself – the ‘smart factory’. Austrian companies are in the vanguard of players making this vision a reality, from automating the supply chain through the multiple uses of artificial intelligence in manufacturing to protecting production with the latest developments in cyber security.
Solutions for the factory of tomorrow are largely based on technologies from the electrical and electronics industries, and breakthroughs from experimental facilities for electronics-based systems such as the leading research centre at Silicon Austria Labs are leaving an indelible mark on the evolution of the industry.
Digital simulations are accelerating progress, supply chains are becoming more transparent and robots are developing fine motor skills. The future of the smart factory seems to know no bounds and offers unfathomable potential. Austria’s companies demonstrate how visions of the future can become palpable solutions, with smart decision-making based on predictable models and cyber security playing a key role here.
Industry 4.0 and the expertise it requires are entirely at home in Austria’s manufacturing sector, which is in the vanguard of these developments with a 22% share of GDP. The sector is being disrupted, and many blue chip firms from Austria are blazing a global trail. More insights on the topic are available in the current edition of the online magazine FRESH VIEW Smart Factory.
