The term “Industry 5.0” has been used more frequently recently to focus on “human-centeredness”, among other things. However, according to the Industry 4.0 Research Advisory Board and the Industry 4.0 Platform, the term Industry 4.0 has always included the benefits for society as its most important goal. In addition, the term Industry 4.0 stands for the fourth industrial revolution, which, like all previous revolutions, will take a long time to be fully implemented. This includes the use of new technologies and value creation models involving the people involved. The typical software abbreviation “4.0” symbolizes the importance of software in this process, but should not be understood as a version number and replaced by “5.0”.   

“The fourth industrial revolution - i.e. Industry 4.0 - encompasses a wide range of aspects,” explains Peter Liggesmeyer (Fraunhofer IESE), spokesperson for science on the Industry 4.0 Research Advisory Board. ”The content that is currently being discussed as Industry 5.0 is fully included in it. There is therefore a risk that the unnecessary term will lead to confusion.”

“Small and medium-sized companies are now also aware of the importance of Industry 4.0,” adds Harald Schöning (Software AG), Industry Spokesperson on the Industry 4.0 Research Advisory Board. ”Implementation has also begun there. These companies are confused and unsettled by the term Industry 5.0. They must not be allowed to lose momentum on their way to Industry 4.0 as a result.”

“Our mission is the scaling and broad implementation of the principles of Industry 4.0. We can only achieve this goal through the committed participation of SMEs,” emphasizes Henrik Schunk (Schunk GmbH & Co. KG), Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Industry 4.0 platform. ”The discussion about Industry 5.0 is not only misleading, but also risks the essential acceptance and participation of this key group. The core topics such as work design, human-centered approaches and the development and integration of AI and generative AI are already being addressed intensively in the Industry 4.0 working groups. A call leads to irritation and therefore makes no sense.”

The statement “The fourth industrial revolution and ‘Industry 5.0’ - a critique” can be found here[in German].

About the Industry 4.0 Research Advisory Board   

As a strategic and independent body, the Industry 4.0 Research Advisory Board makes a significant contribution to identifying research-based solutions for the further development and implementation of Industry 4.0 and thus providing orientation - with the overarching goal of strengthening the German innovation system and value creation. To this end, the Research Advisory Board currently brings together 32 representatives from science and industry with their interdisciplinary expertise, formulates new, pre-competitive research impulses and needs, identifies medium to long-term development perspectives and derives options for action for the successful implementation of Industrie 4.0. Research in the field of Industry 4.0 is increasingly focusing on topics such as sustainability, resilience, interoperability, technological and strategic sovereignty and the central role of people. The work of the Research Advisory Board is coordinated by acatech - National Academy of Science and Engineering, supervised by the Project Management Agency Karlsruhe (PTKA) and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).