There is enormous opportunity for learning, collaboration, and investment between the manufacturing and technology communities to accelerate innovative solutions and product development in the coming decade. Industry leaders agree that every part of the manufacturing value chain will be transformed by technology — R&D, the supply chain, factory operations, sales, and service. Digital connectivity among designers, managers, workers, customers, and physical industrial assets will unlock enormous value and change the manufacturing landscape. AMT spoke to leaders and innovators throughout the manufacturing and technology ecosystems to get their perspectives on transformative technologies and where they see the key opportunities and challenges in the coming decade.
Now, advancements in technology — the confluence of greater bandwidth, imaging technologies, and digitized information — have led the way in creating a powerful new tool to increase the productivity of the industrial workforce including assemblers, operators, and technicians in manufacturing. By augmenting the information, data, images, skills, or experience that workers can access in real time through smartphones, tablets, or smart glasses, manufacturers can increase worker productivity by an order of magnitude.
