Course Introduction

Summary

Industry 4.0 refers to a fundamental shift in global manufacturing, powered by advances in automation, computing, and data. This course surveys the field of Industry 4.0, focusing on advances in manufacturing processes, processes, and systems, a.k.a Smart Manufacturing. The course ties the fundamentals in these areas to the current state-of-the-art, with an examination of where technology is evolving to in the future.

The course will examine the interrelationship between manufacturing machines, processes, and systems, with a close look at the flow of information between and across these realms, enabled by advances in IoT and Analytics. The course will pay special attention to the role of design in manufacturing and will examine feedback loops with product design. Finally, industrial case studies will be presented to illustrate Industry 4.0 at work and the implementation challenges companies face in putting these technologies to work. ‘

The course will equip learners to understand and appreciate the complexity of manufacturing today, and help identify opportunities to push its frontiers.