`Smart Factory` or `Smart Manufacturing` or the `Factory of the Future` is a concept that envisages creation of intelligent factories, where the traditional disparate manufacturing processes are linked to generate intelligent data.

Growth in the global market is set to be driven by increasing investments in automation systems and advances in manufacturing technologies to achieve mass production and push overall efficiency and productivity. Enterprises in the industrial sector are implementing industrial robots, the Internet of Things (IoT), and connected devices for increased visibility, real-time data analysis and predictive maintenance.

In addition, increasing demand for automated manufacturing platforms in industries like manufacturing, automotive, chemical and medical devices is expected to propel market prospects. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a pressing need for manufacturing factories to ensure worker safety while maintaining their operations. The crisis is fueling the adoption of vision-guided robots for reducing the risk of infection to workers. The scenario is expected to prompt various factories to implement automated solutions and robotics for safeguarding their employees from the infection risk.

Control Equipment & Software, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to record a 7.5% CAGR and reach US$99.5 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Reporting & Analysis Software segment is readjusted to a revised 8.7% CAGR for the next 7-year period.

MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS

- Pivotal Role of Smart Factory Solutions in the Evolution of the Digitized Intelligent Factories of the Future

- Intelligent, Digitized & Automated Smart Factories to Transform the Manufacturing Industry

- Digital Factory Technologies for Improved Manufacturing Cell Design and Robotic Automation

- Intelligent Factories Provide Manufacturers New Business Opportunities

- Intelligent Factory Positively Impact Changes in Workforce Deployment

- Industrial IoT Enables Transition to Intelligent Factories

- Discrete Manufacturers Experiment with IoT Implementations

- IoT Set to Revolutionize the Supply Chain

- Essential IoT-based Digital Initiatives for Successful Transition of Manufacturers to Industry 4.0

- Emphasis on Gaining Competitive Edge Steers IIoT Adoption

- Machine Monitoring: The Most Common Way to Implement IIoT in Machine Shops

- Real-time Simulations: A Promising Technology Connecting Human, Machine, and Products in Smart Manufacturing

- M2M Communication: Essential for Seamless Connectivity between Multiple IoT Devices

- Need to Upgrade Existing Factories Offers Huge Untapped Market Growth Potential

- Aging Workforce & Shortage of Skilled Labor Aggravates the Woes of Old Factories

- Digital Talent: Need of the Hour for Digital Transition of Industrial Processes

- The Promise of Smart Factory in Ensuring Supply Chain Resilience Widens the Business Case

- AI for the 'Smart' Factor in Future Manufacturing Facilities

source: yahoo! finance