Manufacturing Indaba launches IoT conference

7th May 2018 By: Anine Kilian - Contributing Editor Online

The Manufacturing Indaba 2018 will host a one-day conference that will focus exclusively on the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The event will reveal how manufacturers will be impacted and enable knowledge sharing, as well as offer insight into the latest global trends affecting the manufacturing industry.

A 12%-a-year increase, on average, is expected in the number of connected IoT devices worldwide, from about 27-billion in 2017 to 125-billion in 2030, significantly impacting on almost all aspects of the manufacturing industry and economy. 

As the Fourth Industrial Revolution gains momentum, decision-makers from the public and private sectors are confronted with a new set of uncertainties regarding the future of production.

Rapidly emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, wearables, robotics and additive manufacturing, are spurring the development of new production techniques and business models that will fundamentally transform global production.

These technologies have the capacity to foster new, more distributed and collaborative supply chains. Together, the speed and scope of change contribute to the complexity of existing challenges associated with the tasks of developing and implementing industrial strategies that promote productivity and inclusive growth.

Discussions centred around IoT will cover the fundamentals of connect, collect, compute and create, highlighting how manufacturers can capitalise on these innovations to optimise operations, create unique business models and solutions and enhance their ability to collate and use data through advanced, autonomous computation methodologies.

The indaba will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre on June 19 and 20.