Manufacturers are expected to commercialize Industry 4.0 products gradually from 2016, according to the latest research report unveiled by the Topology Research Institute.
By the end of 2015, the majority of the Industry 4.0 solutions or products exhibited by manufacturers from Germany, Japan and the U.S.A. were still in showrooms or laboratory rooms.
In order to seize first-mover advantages, manufacturers will officially commercialize products related to the intelligent manufacturing, such as collaborative robot and networking machine tools, in 2016, said the report.
Those products are mature in technology, but their development still depends on customers' recognition and actual demand. Besides, the network connection security and standard development remain big tasks.
In addition to the machine tool manufacturers, network companies, like Cisco Systems Inc., will also play an important role, said Huang Li, deputy head of the Topology Research Institute. It may take some time before the research institutes transfer matured Industry 4.0 technologies to the manufacturers.
Relatively speaking, the collaborative robot and networking machine tool develop faster. After they are put into commercial use, the substantial market growth will be realized after 2016 or 2017, said Huang.
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