Network Plus: Industrial Systems in the Digital Age

随着智能数字、自主和智能技术的到来，工业和制造业正在发生变化。制造商的价值观正在从生产转变为技术诀窍和设计；所有权模式正在从完全拥有转变为合作和长期合作伙伴关系；媒体正在继续从实体向数字转变；工作和服务的分配越来越受到重视；制造业和技术部门之间的伙伴关系越来越关键。这种转变是在21世纪英国的社会和商业背景下发生的。为了利用这一转变带来的潜力，需要考虑人类技能、能力和工作环境的变化，以及支撑行业和创新的商业模式的发展和变化。欧洲的同事们用系统的方法来回应这一概念，他们创造了“工业4.0”(或工业4.0)一词。数字时代未来工业体系的变化需要资助研究，以确保英国在国际背景下处于有利地位，以应对工业带来的挑战，并尽快有效地将新的科学和工程应用到现实世界的体系中。该提案概述了Network Plus活动，该活动将把制造业、数字经济、设计、人为因素和商界的核心同事聚集在一起，在领先的学者和行业合作伙伴之间建立新的合作关系。该网络将超越工业4.0，发展关于未来工业系统的新的“最先进”视角，其中将包括技术进步以及人、商业和社会视角，以确保充分理解将数字技术实施到未来工业系统中的现实。将特别注重确保Network Plus中解决的挑战是由当前和未来的行业背景驱动的。Network Plus将a)从这些现有活动中确定相关要素，以进行国际基准，并在与数字时代的未来工业系统相关的具体要素方面确立英国的领先地位；b)加强跨部门学习；c)为可行性研究确定新的、跨学科的议程设定机会，从而从国家和国际资助者那里获得科学见解和未来的资金申请。

Industry and Manufacturing are changing with the advent of smart digital, autonomous and intelligent technologies. Values for manufacturers are changing from production to technological knowhow and design; ownership models are changing from outright ownership to collaborative and long term partnership; media are continuing their shift from physical to digital; there is an increasing focus on distribution of work and service; and the partnership between the manufacturing sector and the technology sector is increasingly key. This shift is taking place in the societal and business context of the UK in the 21st Century. In order to harness the potential from this shift, the changes in human skills, capabilities and working environments needs to be considered, alongside the development and change in business models that underpin industry and innovation. European colleagues have responded to this notion with a systems approach by coining the term 'Industrie 4.0'(or Industry 4.0). Changes to future industrial systems in the digital age demands funded research in order to ensure that the UK is well placed within an international context to respond to the challenges presented from industry and to implement new science and engineering into real world systems as quickly and effectively as possible. This proposal outlines a Network Plus activity that will bring together core colleagues from the Manufacturing, Digital Economy, Design, Human Factors and Business communities to build new collaborations between leading academics and industry partners. The network will move beyond Industry 4.0 to develop new 'state of the art' perspectives on future industrial systems, which will encompass technology advances, and human, business and social perspectives, to ensure a full understanding of the realities of implementing digital technologies into future industrial systems. There will be a particular focus on ensuring that challenges addressed within the Network Plus are driven by the current and future industrial context. The Network Plus will a) identify relevant elements from these existing activities to conduct international benchmarking and establish the UK lead in specific elements of relevance to Future Industrial Systems in the Digital Age; b) enhance cross-sectorial learning; and c) identify new, discipline-bridging, agenda-setting opportunities for feasibility studies leading to scientific insight and future funding applications from national and international funders.