The term Industry 5.0 may not be a hot topic of conversation, but it is a concept that demands attention. As companies continue to face unprecedented challenges, there has never been a better time to examine the potential for the European industrial fabric to evolve and adapt to the changing demands of society.
Industry 5.0 is not just about technology. It aims to refocus European industry on people and sustainability, promoting a reindustrialization that is struggling in Europe. The introduction and widespread use of technologies such as sensors, data, and automation are profoundly changing work patterns and the role of humans, while also raising concerns about the harmful effects of innovation. The aim of Industry 5.0 is to assess these transformations and mitigate their negative impacts, while renewing the role played by industry in society as a provider of genuine social, environmental, and societal prosperity.
Despite being a major employer, the industry is suffering from a constantly increasing loss of interest in its professions. The decision by the future engineers of Agro Paris Tech to “opt out” echoes a growing desire on the part of the new generations to do better, in the name of global ecology. Young people are calling for a rethink of all current production methods and are rejecting the professional futures in store for them. Without the next generation of engineers, technicians, and workers, the European industry will not succeed in its transition to a sustainable, local, and durable future.
The European Union intends to use cutting-edge technologies to make the Industry 5.0 paradigm a reality and make its jobs desirable again. However, this also means that there is a need for a framework of physical and cyber trust to support such a transition. Individualized human-machine interaction, biomimicry, intelligent materials, digital twins, and simulation, data transmission, storage, analysis technologies, and artificial intelligence are all crucial components of Industry 5.0. Data is at the heart of these technologies, and it promises to enable better decision-making, resource consumption, and management to meet European conditions for sustainability and resilience while ensuring that people and their needs are fully considered.
However, the use of such technologies also demands a high level of cybersecurity and IT security. Human-machine cooperation first requires strong safety technologies to ensure the safety of workers. Trust in robotics that assist and move around employees would quickly evaporate in the face of computer attacks that were capable of altering the behavior of co-working machines. The potential scenarios for cyber attacks are endless, such as predictive maintenance, process quality, the solidity of the underlying network infrastructure, and the reliability of the data on which future decisions will be based. Building genuine IT security for robotic, automated, interconnected, and distributed enterprises improves their digital intelligence and the success of the societal model the EU is calling for.
In conclusion, Industry 5.0 may not be a hot topic of conversation, but it should be. Companies face unprecedented challenges, and there has never been a better time to examine the potential for the European industrial fabric to evolve and adapt to the changing demands of society. Industry 5.0 aims to refocus European industry on people and sustainability, promoting a reindustrialization that is struggling in Europe. The introduction and widespread use of technologies such as sensors, data, and automation are profoundly changing work patterns and the role of humans, and Industry 5.0 aims to assess these transformations and mitigate their negative impacts while renewing the role played by industry in society as a provider of genuine social, environmental, and societal prosperity. Building genuine IT security for robotic, automated, interconnected, and distributed enterprises improves their digital intelligence and the success of the societal model the EU is calling for, but it demands a high level of cybersecurity and IT security. It is time for companies to step up and embrace the challenges and opportunities that Industry 5.0 presents.