16 May 2017
Britain was the birthplace of the first industrial revolution, led the second (technological – industrial revolution), and was an early adopter of the third (automation driven – industrial revolution).
Britain was the birthplace of the first industrial revolution, led the second (technological – industrial revolution), and was an early adopter of the third (automation driven – industrial revolution).
The country now needs to establish its position in the fourth industrial revolution (industry 4.0), which is driven by digital data, connectivity and cyber systems and which creates impressive, often unimaginable business opportunities for those who are innovative and agile. The UK has all the ingredients to exploit the fourth industrial revolution.
Professor Sam Turner, CTO at HVM Catapult
World class research and academia, a strong tech sector that could couple with manufacturing expertise, ongoing success in sectors such as aerospace and automotive, high levels of entrepreneurship and the hugely successful High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult translational R&D mechanism has enabled the UK to adopt technology quickly and in volume. Digital engineering and manufacturing could deliver a double-digit productivity improvement by 2035, generating a predicted additional £91.6 billion to the UK economy and creating over 300,000 new jobs in manufacturing alone.
Major industry stakeholders in the UK have come together in the ‘Digital 4 Industry’ (D4I) group to consider the threats and opportunities digital technologies present to the engineering and manufacturing sector. The HVM Catapult – the go-to -place for advanced manufacturing technology in the UK – is at the core of the group, helping it to articulate guidance on how to make the UK the best place for the exploitation of such technologies.
Since its initiation, the D4I group has focused on key areas – such as research, technology demonstrators, skills, cyber security and business transformation programmes – that enable the effective adoption of digital technologies, processes and business models by UK Industry to drive productivity, competitive separation and economic growth.
It is encouraging that the UK government also understands the importance of Digital Manufacturing, as illustrated by the current Industrial Digitalisation Review undertaken by Siemens’ CEO Juergen Maier on behalf of Government. We work closely with the review to ensure our findings are taken into consideration.
There is a lot at stake. We know we could significantly increase our productivity by increasing the uptake of automation and robotics. The adoption of these technologies across value chains would not only boost productivity for the companies and sectors involved, but for the entire UK economy. Using digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, sensor technologies and automation makes companies more agile and better equipped to respond to, or even act ahead of, changing consumer demands, supplier conditions and technology availability. And in today’s world, agile makes competitive.
It’s not just about business improvement. Digital technologies can enable business model transformation, such as servitisation and manufacturing-on-demand. These models increase the value for the customer and the profit margin for the company.
As part of our role to help industry bridge the gap between innovation and commercial application, the HVM Catapult offers capabilities that are at the heart of digital manufacturing, including Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technology, Digital Manufacturing, Additive Manufacturing and Intelligent Automation and Robotics. Our seven centres across the country offer companies of all sizes open access to industrial scale equipment, leading expertise, and an environment of collaboration between industry, academia and Government. Examples of our facilities and projects include:
Similar examples can be found in all seven centres.