Deliverables for 2019 for Pillar 1 Embracing Innovation and Technological Change include: 

• Deliver important policy initiatives including an Industry 4.0 Strategy, a National Digital Strategy, and a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy
• Form Top Teams to progress areas of opportunity for Ireland beginning with Artificial Intelligence, GovTech and Offshore Renewables
• Develop Ireland as a centre for developing and testing new technologies by, for example:

• • extending the EI/IDA Irish Manufacturing Research Additive Manufacturing technology centre to include cobotics and AR/VR,
  • progressing the Advanced Manufacturing Centre,
  • expanding the Tyndall National Institute,
  • commencing the development of a National Centre of Excellence on High Performance and Nearly Zero Energy Buildings
  • commencing the development of a National Design Centre

The strategy is good news for the future of Irish manufacturing but what about the here and now? What steps can companies who want to embrace new technologies today take? In his piece on smart manufacturing in this issue, Chris Evans, marketing & operations group manager at Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V. Automation Systems Division, suggests that while implementing a smart manufacturing plan may require a staged approach, a survey can identify low hanging fruit that can be exploited on the road to a smart manufacturing end goal (full article page 7).  

Another idea might be to attend E-Plan's Industry 4.0 technology day at the Limerick Institute of Technology on the 16th April where as well as finding out more about the Industry 4.0 concept, attendees will be able to hear about how existing and near future technologies can contribute to smart factory status. President of Limerick Institute of Technology comments: "We are very much focussed on leading those attending towards a world where Industry 4.0 and digitalisation represent the day-to-day norm and not the exception" (more on pages 12 & 13).