Many people have the question, "Is a smart factory an unmanned factory?
The answer is no. A smart factory is not the same as an unmanned factory.
An unmanned factory, also known as an automated factory or fully automated factory, is a factory where all production is controlled by computers and the production floor is filled with robots rather than workers. Smart factory is the use of the Internet of Things, cloud computing, mobile Internet technology and expert systems to closely integrate the production site of the enterprise with the virtual environment to achieve a rapid response to the whole process and link of manufacturing, sales and after-sales service, optimize resource allocation and achieve efficient collaboration.
In terms of scale, most unmanned factories speak of an enterprise's unmanned production workshop; whereas the production layout of a smart factory is more comprehensive and complete, and not just the production workshop part.
The core of an unmanned factory is the computer, while the core of a smart factory is the Internet of Things. Smart factory aims to establish a modern factory with four capabilities of "comprehensive perception, collaborative optimization, prediction and early warning, and scientific decision-making", and finally achieve the goal of intelligent and digital factory.
There is also a difference in the way employees are addressed in the unmanned factory and the smart factory. The main goal of an unmanned factory is to replace human production with machine production. In contrast, there are times when machines cannot replace people in a smart factory, which relies on machines to do the work and interpret data, both to integrate customers and business partners and to produce products.
However, people are still at the heart of business production, playing a role mainly in control, programming and maintenance. The goal of the smart factory is not to do without people, but to make their work more valuable. Instead of replacing people, machines in smart factories can better assist people in their work and achieve better human-machine interaction.
