Hanover Fair 2015: The future come and gone

Industry 4.0 has long been a buzzword. Some say we're way off from achieving it fully. Others say we're living it now. So what is it? The American term - "Advance Manufacturing" - is perhaps more descriptive. It evokes images of fully automated production-lines, robotics, networked machines and decisions based on what sensors see and say. Humans are out of sight, out of mind.

The dream starts off small. We say, "Wouldn't it be nice to be able to print all kinds of things - physical things, not just ink on paper - but things we can wear, things we can touch and feel?" And then we invent 3D printers. We have fun printing cups or plastic toys. And then someone prints a gun.

Sure, it's empowering to be able to print whatever you want. You accidentally sit on your glasses and the frame breaks, so you design and print a new pair. No need to visit an optometrist. Just load up the plastic and print. It's so easy, a child could do it. Perhaps even a robot. Yes, why not? Soon 3D printers will print themselves.

Don't worry - if your 3D printer gets out of control and prints an entire brood of machines that re-program themselves and take over your home - your neighbors will know about it (probably before you do), and they'll surely come to your rescue. No doubt. Our homes will be so wired and connected, your door might be broken down remotely.

Imagine the bliss of no longer having to think - of no longer needing to check things for safety, such as the pressure in your car tires. Sensors will do that for you. They will detect the pressure drop and correct it as necessary. This is good. Sensors will soon be used to check the bolts on Ferris wheels to ensure they are tight. They may even be able to tell you when you're hungry.

This baby is safe. Truly, it can come to no harm - not least because it's plastic and not really alive, but also because it's on a drip, and the fluid of that drip is being analyzed for every little imbalance in its mixture. If the sensors attached detect the slightest error in the drip's composition, it can be switched off. So this baby is safe because we can safely rely on sensors. Can't we?

There is another kind of drip we humans care about - possibly more so than the kind found in hospitals. It's the drip of alcohol. Fully automating the production of alcoholic beverages - powered by sensors - is something we must aspire to. Advanced manufacturing will give us advanced beer. Will it come to represent the epitome of human development? For some...

But for now these visions remain just that - visions of a future - and you may or may not see anything dystopian about it. We see a robot waving goodbye. And for now, there's still a human inside.