Industry 4.0 has been a successful phase, providing us with great optimisation of resources and some of the best results. However, it had certain limitations. It actually went too far in the process of automation. With this loophole, there was a need for change in the existing practices or Industry 4.0 practices. Looking for this change, the industry has developed something revolutionary. We have entered Industry 5.0, where Collaborative Robots are a new reality.
We will be exploring Collaborative Robots and Industry 5.0 in detail. So, be ready for an informative journey ahead.
Why was there a need for Collaborative Robots?
With the efforts of modernisation taking the lead from the start of the 21st century, the human element was totally ignored in the production processes and the industry. Humans were important but only for creating the automated process, analysing performance, and managing the entire process of automation. This led to the requirement of more degree-oriented individuals to hold the jobs and that too in minimal quantities.
In addition, the automation process did not allow the use of customisation, which is the new trend in the market. Industry 4.0 operations could only provide the users with the set standards, no deviation allowed. The revolution encompassed breakthroughs in technologies like IoT, AI and robotics but the applications limited to eliminating human oversight in the industrial production.
What's new in Industry 5.0?
To curb the shortcomings, compact yet smart, Collaborative Robots attracted attention. As opposed to traditional robots, Collaborative Robots will serve as a co-worker and collaborate and interact further than a pre-defined task list. Such robots are easier to work with and flexible to train. Most of all, force-limiting sensors means that human and robots can work in the same premises without needing to deploy protective guards. With this entire shift of creating collaboration between humans and robots, humans are going to get a higher share in the industry, especially when it comes to controlling in the industry 5.0.
So, you can easily say that humans would be managing and operating the industry as they have been doing before 4.0 but with a difference. And this difference is in the form of the availability of Collaborative Robots for humans. Now the human workforce can manage things better, ensuring the robots’ technical precision to bring in customisability in the products. In addition, allocating tasks like lifting heavy objects that came with high risk to the robots without compromising the intellect and decision-making power of the humans.
What has the industry got as a result of Collaborative Robots?
The introduction of Collaborative Robots in industry 5.0 has impacted the technological dimension or scope of the industry. Collaborative Robots embody the interoperability, decentralised decision, IoT and information transparency. Industry 5.0 together with Collaborative Robots will bring an incredible, holistic impact. Let’s have a look at each of these impacts here in this section.
Economic Impact:
You must have seen the rising employment over the last two decades prior to Covid-19. This can be partly attributed to automation. Allocation of jobs to the robots leaving the humans jobless. So, the concept of the collaborative report would prove helpful in this regard, as it would encourage the use of human power again with the positives of the robotic force.
Consumer Impact:
Considering the consumer point of view, it would now be possible to create anything that your customers want. It has no longer to be bound by the industrial approach of standardization. In the Industry 4.0 settings, the companies could not manage varieties of products for the individual customer no matter how badly they wanted to. The use of robots had their constraints. But with generation 5.0, it isn’t amongst the impossible.
Now, the customers would be in a better position to control the market. Simultaneously, Collaborative Robots would provide companies with an opportunity to take a competitive advantage in terms of greater customisability.
Societal impact:
The service value and overall career value would be much higher for humans working in the industry, bringing in more job security and higher pay. The result of it would be an improvement in the human standard of living.
In addition, the risk-oriented activities that humans had to perform initially could be easily transferred to these Collaborative Robots. Moreover, humans would be better positioned to put their energies in creative work – the work they’ll enjoy.
What's the reason behind all these impacts?
In Industry 4.0, both robots and humans had their roles, but both worked independently. They weren’t collaborating on a large scale. This is what is different in Industry 5.0. Now, you’ll see robots and humans working together, providing higher quality and perfection in the results.
The promises of Collaborative Robots & Industry 5.0.
With all these new happenings in the industry, you can expect to see a boom once again as more companies will join the revolution. And this time, it won’t be at the cost of human resources. Instead, it would be the collaborative one bringing in the most efficient results.