Introduction to the Special Issue on Smart Systems for Industry 4.0 and IoT

The development of big data applications is driving the dramatic growth of hybrid data, often in the form of complex sets of cross-media content including text, images, videos, audios, and time series. Tremendous volumes of these heterogeneous data are derived from multiple IoT sources and present new challenges for the design, development, and implementation of effective information systems and decision support frameworks tomeet heterogeneous computing requirements. Emerging technologies allow for the near real-time extraction and analysis of heterogeneous data to find meaningful information. Machine-learning algorithms allow computers to learn automatically, analyzing existing data to establish rules to predict outcomes of unknown data. However, traditional machine learning approaches do not meet the needs for Internet of Things (IoT) applications, calling for new technologies. Deep learning is a good example of emerging technologies that tackle the limitations of traditional machine learning through feature engineering, providing superior performance in highly complex applications. However, these technologies also raise new security and privacy concerns. Technology adoption and trust issues are of timely importance as well. Industrial operations are in themidst of rapid transformations, sometimes referred to as Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), or smart manufacturing. These transformations are bringing fundamental changes to factories and workplaces, making them safer and more efficient, flexible, and environmentally friendly. Machines are evolving to have increased autonomy, and new human-machine interfaces such as smart tools, augmented reality, and touchless interfaces are making interaction more natural. Machines are also becoming increasingly interconnected within individual factories as well as to the outside world through cloud computing, enabling many opportunities for operational efficiency and flexibility in manufacturing and maintenance. An increasing number of countries have put forth national advanced manufacturing development strategies, such as Germany’s Industry 4.0, the United States’ Industrial Internet and manufacturing system based on CPS (Cyber-Physical Systems), and China’s Internet Plus Manufacturing and Made in China 2025 initiatives. Smart Manufacturing aims to maximize transparency and access of all manufacturing process information across entire manufacturing supply chains and product lifecycles, with the Internet of Things (IoT) as a centerpiece to increase productivity and output value. This manufacturing revolution depends on technology connectivity and the contextualization of data, thus putting intelligent systems support and data science at the center of these developments.