Analysis of IT standards and protocols for Industry 4.0

Abstract

The newest industry revolution, called Industry 4.0, aims to unify and blend existing technologies, which are hierarchically treated, and make possible the idea of total integration among production levels, with a seamless flow of information. The current division into levels and the top-down approach to the information flow will begin to disappear, exchanges of information will occur in a manner that each device is capable of starting an operation on its own. There are, however, several challenges for this integration to become a reality, some of which are associated with the needed information architecture that should be used by production environments. This architecture must focus on Industry 4.0 requirements and be function-oriented, instead of hierarchical.