Organized along six tracks—geospatial, geosystems, manufacturing intelligence, mining, process, power and marine and safety and infrastructure—the conference presents a lineup of the technologies driving Hexagon’s SMART X strategy.

Hexagon President Norbert Hanke will explore Hexagon's vision for the future of manufacturing.

The manufacturing sector is currently saturated with Industry 4.0 (aka the Industrial Internet of Things or IIoT) hype and jargon. This is no surprise given the evidence showing that the connectivity of systems and exploitation of data can add significant value to modern manufacturing processes and supply chains.

Regardless of how you see it, Industry 4.0 has the potential to create profound changes and new opportunities for manufacturing. But what is Industry 4.0 and what will it mean?

In the manufacturing world, the buzzword “Industry 4.0” is on seemingly everyone’s lips for a reason. Not only do manufacturers have to keep up with rapidly evolving technology, but also  with the changes in consumer trends that go along with it in order to survive, much less triumph, in an increasingly competitive and high-tech marketplace.

The Internet of Things (IoT) describes the growing trend in which a wide range of objects—sensors, switches, video cameras, tools, thermostats, lights, microphones, speakers, etc.—are given unique identifiers and the ability to communicate with each other over a network without requiring human intervention.

Learn how to implement smart manufacturing and build a connected enterprise at annual event hosted by Rockwell Automation.

25-year company veteran Richard Brine assumes key role.

To find out more, Quality spoke with John Nesi, Vice President of Market Development at Rockwell Automation, and Bryce Barnes, Senior Manager of Cisco Systems’ Machine and Robot Segment globally under Cisco’s Internet of Things Manufacturing Solutions Group.