It seems like we were just beginning to really grasp the concept and impact of Industry 4.0—defined as “a name for the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies, including cyber-physical systems, the Internet of things, cloud computing, and cognitive computing and creating the smart factory.”[1] And now we are talking about Industry 5.0? Truly, if there is one trend in today’s world that is driving change, it is acceleration. Acceleration of just about everything!

So what exactly is Industry 5.0? According to the European Commission, “Industry 5.0 provides a vision of industry that aims beyond efficiency and productivity as the sole goals and reinforces the role and the contribution of industry to society. It places the wellbeing of the worker at the centre of the production process and uses new technologies to provide prosperity beyond jobs and growth while respecting the production limits of the planet. It complements the existing ‘Industry 4.0’ approach by specifically putting research and innovation at the service of the transition to a sustainable, human-centric and resilient European industry.”[2]

Wow, that ticks a lot of boxes that we have been pontificating about in these pages, but didn’t have a cohesive name for. Now we do.