Materializing Industry 4.0 Through Industrial Automation

Industry 4.0 – What is it, and how can manufacturers make it a reality in their operations? In this episode of To the Edge and Beyond, host Daniel Litwin talks with Hector Martinez, an industrial automation expert at Intel, about manufacturing challenges fueling the push towards Industry 4.0 and the technologies that are making Industry 4.0 possible.

The need for Industry 4.0 solutions is a result of many factors including supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and rapidly changing customer demands. Adopting 4.0 solutions involves combining new technologies with legacy applications and allocating more power to edge computing, which can lower costs, improve resilience, and increase productivity. “Slowly but surely,” says Martinez, “manufacturers are realizing that incorporating the latest automation technologies will allow them to capitalize on all the data that gets generated during operations. Having this data will increase ease of use, reduce risk, and allow them to create more capable interfaces, algorithms, and models.”

The switch to Industry 4.0 raises challenging questions. How do manufacturers:

• Maximize return on investments in legacy systems?
• Collect and use data effectively at the edge?
• Increase processing power and connectivity speeds?
• Address the demands of extreme industrial environments?

According to Martinez, successful implementation of Industry 4.0 solutions depends on evaluating each manufacturer’s needs and selecting a high-performing processor designed to excel at the edge. “The differentiator for this technology will be how flexible and easy it is to adopt and whether or not manufacturers can make efficient use of legacy applications and devices by incorporating edge solutions such as AI, digital twins, and robots,” says Martinez.

“When you’re in manufacturing, continuous improvement is part of the job, but the good news is that Industry 4.0 is within reach for most manufacturers.”

To continue the conversation with Hector Martinez, connect with him on LinkedIn.

Learn more about Intel’s industrial automation solutions, visit:

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