1、Is industrial automation headed for a tipping point?June 2023A gradually evolving industry now faces nonlinear competition and technological shifts.Here are two key scenarios for the future.by Harald Bauer,David Ebenstein,Giulietta Poltronieri,and Jan Paul SteinExecutive summaryOver the past few dec

2、ades,industrial automation has evolved gradually,with few changes in market structure.But the pace of change is accelerating thanks to technology disruptions and macrotrends such as reshoring,a global skilled-labor shortage,and environmental,social,and governance(ESG)efforts.Innovations in digitaliz

3、ation and connectivity as well as advances in processing power and design regularly disrupt markets.In the smartphone market,the iPhone and the iTunes ecosystem redefined what consumers wanted and how they would get it.The idea of software-defined cars that could be updated over the airsometimes cal

4、led“smartphones on wheels”first became reality in the automotive market in 2012.Is the day likewise coming when software-defined manufacturing will turn shop floors into“smartphones with robotic arms”?A scenario analysis by McKinsey suggests that the answer is yes.According to our analysis,many of t

5、odays most advanced trends in manufacturing technologiessuch as digital twins,robots capable of teaching themselves,and devices that can do their own programmingwill become commonplace in the future.These trends will enable a“software-defined”paradigm for industrial automation.It is harder to predic

6、t when this future will arrive.It may come in 15 years,but it also may come in five years,depending on the speed of technological advances and their adoption in different industrial sectors.Which time frame turns out to be correct has important implications for companies near-term strategies.Provide