Adopting Emerging Digital Technologies – Opportunities for Ambitious Manufacturers

CSIRO’s Future Digital Manufacturing initiative has considered how best to assist Australian manufacturers. While there are a number of attractive technologies now approaching commercialisation. The use, however, of open innovation technology development platforms, for instance; AI enhanced design tools, intelligent autonomous robotic system tools, and secure by design IIoT, offers; more rapid, more robust, more supportable complex solutions that give rise to global competitive advantage.  Also, the development and adoption of enterprise and technology frameworks, reference architectures, and standards appropriate for Australia’s manufacturing scale, capabilities, and specific requirements, are also anticipated to be important.

The key message to ambitious SME manufacturers; prepare your organisation on Industry 3.0 with broad innovation capabilities, consider the value participating and contributing to industry innovation eco-systems, and then finally there are two options: learn by climbing the Industry 4.0 maturity curve, or pursue targeted Industry 4.0 adoption guided by your organisational competitive strategy.

About Christian:

Christian has a 30 year career in robotic automation systems development and integration, working in Australia and Canada. He has implemented statistical process control innovations in the plastic industry, was the Engineering Manager supporting the development of automation and instrumentation in raw wool metrology, and the Value Chain Technology Program Manager with Meat & Livestock Australia’s automation and objective measurement program. This featured significant R&D investments in lamb and beef automation and associated advanced measurement systems utilising x-ray and machine vision technologies. Most recently he is the joint program leader for CSIRO’s Future Digital Manufacturing initiative, including Industry 4.0, liaising between the Manufacturing material science research areas and the Data61 data and algorithmic sciences. His career mission has been advancing Australian manufacturing through technology and innovation.