A review of the meanings and the implications of the Industry 4.0 concept

Abstract The global industrial landscape has changed deeply in the last few years due to successive technological developments and innovations in manufacturing processes. The Industry 4.0 concept has emerged and the academic literature has paid an increased attention to this topic, which remains non-consensual or ill defined. In this research, a literature review is made to understand this concept in its technological dimension, and to comprehend its impacts. This new industrial paradigm brings together the digital and physical worlds through the Cyber-Physical Systems enhanced by Internet of Things and it is expected that this novel has consequences on industry, markets and economy, improving production processes and increasing productivity, affecting the whole product lifecycle, creating new business models, changing the work environment and restructuring the labor market. Therefore, this paper focuses on Industry 4.0 concept and contributes for its clarification and further understanding about the importance and implications of this complex technological system.