In the newly released Manufacturing Vision Study, Zebra Technologies Corporation explored the increasing popularity of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) by the global industrial manufacturing sector. The report analysed trends currently driving the segment highlighting that one half of manufactures have admitted plans to adopt wearable technologies by 2022, while 55% of current wearable users expect their level of usage to increase over next five years.
On the factory floor, Industry 4.0 and smart technologies will soon become commonplaces. As a result of technologies, such as radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, wearables, automated and plant management systems, 64% of manufacturers expected to be fully connected by 2022, compared to the 43% in the present.
Jeff Schmitz, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Zebra, said: “Manufacturers are entering a new era in which producing high-quality products is paramount to retaining and acquiring customers as well as capturing significant cost savings that impact the bottom line.
“The results of Zebra’s 2017 Manufacturing Vision Study prove that IIoT has crossed the chasm, and savvy manufacturers are investing aggressively in technologies that will create a smarter, more connected plant floor to achieve greater operational visibility and enhance quality.”
Additionally findings from the report found that 51% of companies will reportedly invest in voice technology in the next five year, while manual processes are projected to rapidly decline. In the case of the latter, while 62% of survey respondents still rely on paper to track business critical data, this figure is expected to drop to one in five by 2022.
