Figure 1: A woman with a virtual reality headset on

How could you use a virtual reality headset at work? Or communicate with a robot and improve its operation using artificial intelligence? These are all possible career opportunities in advanced manufacturing!

In prior activities, you’ve had a sampling of what’s possible with “Industry 4.0”, or the fourth industrial revolution. You’ve seen how additive manufacturing can speed up production processes and how the cloud can make data more accessible to everyone involved in manufacturing a product and help create a digital twin.

In this activity, you’ll explore other exciting technologies used in advanced manufacturing including advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and the Industrial Internet of Things. You’ll then consider how Industry 4.0 technologies have the potential to dramatically influence the future of toy manufacturing at an Ohio-based company.

Materials:

• Device with internet access
• Digital Answer Document: Use a software program provided by your teacher to create a digital answer document for this activity. Be sure to utilize the naming convention identified by your teacher. This can be a group answer document. 

Safety Notes:

• When using technology, engage in safe, legal, and ethical behavior; this applies to devices (hardware), application or programs (software), and interactions with others.
• There are no anticipated physical safety risks associated with this Activity.

Part 1: Advanced Technologies in Industry 4.0

Arrange students into groups of 3-4 students. Assign each group one of the technologies (you may have more than one group with each topic)

1. Copy and paste Table 1 and the table for your assigned technology into a digital answer document.
2. Table 1: Use the questions in Table 1 as a guide for your research. Answer the questions in the Table after you have completed Table 2. 
3. Table 2: With your group, research your assigned technology and how it is now used in manufacturing using the suggested web resources. Feel free to explore additional resources you find online related to your assigned technology. Record your answers in Table 2. 
4. Your group should create a 3-4 minute presentation using a medium of your choice where you will share what you have learned with your peers. Everyone on your team needs to be a part of the presentation. This presentation can be hands-on, a video, a Prezi, or any other format that your teacher approves.

Table 1: Guiding Questions

Table 2: Advanced Robotics

Table 3: Artificial Intelligence

Part 2: The Future of Little Tikes

Figure 2: Child riding in a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe^TM

Watch this video again to recall how the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe^TM is manufactured: Web Link - How the Cozy Coupe is Made

Consider how manufacturing at Little Tikes could become safer, more efficient, or cost-saving if they introduced each Industry 4.0 technology into their manufacturing processes.

1. Copy and past Table 6 into your group's digital answer document. 
2. For each technology listed in Table 6, describe how Little Tikes could implement the technology and what kind of potential impact it could have on production, safety, and the company overall. 

Table 6: Little Tike Future 4.0 Technologies

Reflect and Apply:

Add this section to your digital document. Copy and paste the questions and then answer the following questions:

1. List some of your favorite science fiction books or films. What other emerging or fictitious technologies found in these books and films might be useful in advanced manufacturing in the future? What kind of impact would that have on manufacturing processes?

Extension:

• When watching films or reading books, make a mental note of when you see examples of Industry 4.0 in action.
• Apply your understanding of 4.0 technologies and production processes to your recommendations for Little Tikes. If Little Tikes implemented all of your suggestions, what might the production processes or a blueprint of the shop floor look like. Draw a diagram showing the factory floor.

Additional Resources to Explore:

• Web Link - Industry 4.0: What Manufacturing Looks Like in the Digital Era
• Web Link - Connected Workers: Digital Transformation and the Future of Industry