Less than a decade has passed since the concept of Industry 4.0 took hold. Despite this, some visionaries are already focusing on the next industrial revolution, Industry 5.0. This technological revolution is aimed at promoting the transformation of the industrial sector into smart spaces based on IoT and cognitive computing. Such technology seeks to bring machines and humans together, or in other words, to develop Artificial Intelligence so that it can perform processes similar to those performed by human thought.
The Industry 5.0 emphasises collaboration between machines and humans to improve productivity and efficiency. These professionals must be adapted to work side by side with intelligent machines. Knowing this, let's take a look at what Industry 5.0 will look like.
With Factory 5.0, the figure of the Chief Robotics Officer has appeared. This is a person specialised in the interaction between machines and operators, who also has knowledge in areas such as robotics or artificial intelligence. His or her role in the company involves making decisions around these factors.
By putting humans back at the centre of industrial production, with the help of a new generation of tools such as collaborative robots, Industry 5.0 will not only give consumers the products they want, but also create jobs for workers that are more meaningful than traditional repetitive factory jobs. By 2030, robots and digitisation are expected to end 470,000 jobs, while potentially creating 495,000 jobs.
Example of the application of Industry 5.0.
Repsol has already integrated Industry 5.0 into its company. The robot is called AGV (Autonomous Guided Vehicle) and is a collaborative robot that performs logistical tasks such as the daily distribution of samples between laboratories, delivery of materials from the warehouse, waste removal... It is able to move between plants, open doors and reach all laboratories. It has a load capacity of 100 kg and an autonomy of more than 10h or 20 km thanks to lithium batteries, which it recharges autonomously.
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