FII chairman sees 4 stages of smart manufacturing

Smart manufacturing, in the trend of Industry 4.0, should be implemented in four stages: automation, digitization, network-based connectivity, and fully smart, according to Li Junqi, chairman of Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII) which is affiliated to Foxconn Electronics.

Automation of equipment is introduced in the first stage, according to Liu. Then, sensors are used to collect data on operation of equipment and production for analysis - the digitization stage. In the third stage, the Internet is used to connect upstream and downstream makers in the entire supply chain. The final stage sees accumulated big data and AI models enable simulation and realization of smart manufacturing.

Foxconn Electronics chairman Liu Young-way has proposed Foxconn 1.0, Foxconn 2.0 and Foxconn 3.0 for digital transformation of the Foxconn (Hon Hai) Group's business operation in three stages, with Foxconn 1.0 focusing on optimization of existing operation, Foxconn 2.0 on smart decision making, Foxconn 3.0 on upgrading business operation by stepping into core technologies of electric vehicles (EV), digital medical care and robots.