Industry 4.0: Industrial IoT and Full System Integration

Welcome to the fourth industrial revolution, also referred to as Industry 4.0, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and Smart Manufacturing. This most-recent industrial revolution builds on the Digital Revolution by developing new ways in which technology becomes more integrated and embedded within societies and, therefore, most facets of our daily lives.

This whitepaper explores the components and technologies that help enable and build the Industrial IoT including M2M communication, machine vision, and analog mixed-signal and power technology products.

M2M (machine-to-machine) communication is the sending of information and data from various sensors through existing networking technologies and protocols, while, at the same time, capturing and processing the information by use of specialized servers and/or data centers. Machine vision encompasses technologies and methods for providing imaging-based automatic inspection and analysis. Digital ASICs, mixed-signal ASICs, AC-DC controllers and regulators, and DC-DC controllers, converters, and regulators are all critically important components that make up the fundamental elements of the overarching systems of which Industry 4.0 is comprised.