FRESH DATA: Manufacturing Faces Dizzying Array of Innovation Tech

Our FRESH DATA posts highlight the latest independent research.

With so many new technologies about to impact every aspect of manufacturing, which ones are worthy of immediate investment?

According to researchers from ABI Research who attended the recent IMTS 2018 (International Manufacturing Trade Show) in Chicago, weighing the potential versus the cost of these newfangled technologies is a pressing concern for today’s manufacturers.

“These technological advancements hold the promise of enabling a cleaner, more efficient, and relevant manufacturing sector for developed markets,” said Stuart Carlaw, Chief Research Officer at ABI Research, a market-foresight advisory firm.

See also: ABI sees other IoT networks rocketing ahead of NB-IoT and LTE-M

According to the new whitepaper “The Next American Industrial Revolution: Key Takeaways from IMTS 2018 and Hannover Messe USA”, ABI Research found that many cutting-edge technologies are on the radar of manufacturers, including additive manufacturing, generative design, virtualization, visualization, smart manufacturing, cobots, AI and IoT.

But not everybody in the manufacturing community is keen to adopt the latest technology. The report, which highlights the importance of AI, connectivity, and IoT, also found that adoption in these areas is currently being thwarted by conservative attitudes toward data management and connecting machines.

The report also suggests these attitudes will change in the near term, resulting in a widespread transformation of the entire industry.

“Importantly, some of these technologies will enable the democratization of automation down into the small and medium-sized enterprises,” added Carlaw.

“This will have significant impacts on gross domestic product and national output,” he said.