TECHNOLOGY
The Fifth Industrial Revolution is when man and
machine shake hands to introduce the so-called
‘human touch’ to modern technological processes.
A HUMAN TOUCH
TO MACHINES
Edited by Leon Louw
While South Africa is preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), international
organisations are already bracing for Industry 5.0.
T
his fifth wave of industrial innovation
will see humans working alongside
‘smart’ machines and robots to
achieve new levels of precision, efficiency
and productivity.
It is a natural progression from
Industry 4.0 to harness the power
of artificial intelligence (AI), machine
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learning (ML), robotics and the Internet
of Things (IoT). This era of cyber-physical
systems, including autonomous vehicles,
nanotechnology, biotechnology, energy
storage and cloud computing, is already
having a significant impact on the way in
which people live, work and interact with
one another.
However, Frikkie Eloff, regional
manager of First Technology
Group’s Limpopo and Mpumalanga
operations, says the ramifications of
the Fifth Industrial Revolution will be
significantly more profound, and South
Africa has to therefore start preparing
for it now.
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