Demining 4.0; principles of the latest industrial revolution applied to humanitarian demining

The modern world is characterized by the pervasive presence of electronic sensors, microprocessors, robotics, and wireless connectivity. Powerful computers can perform virtual simulations that would previously have required physical models or experiments. Conversely, these same machines can control robotic devices that take virtual models and produce physical objects (e.g. 3-D printing). In manufacturing, this represents a new industrial revolution, dubbed “Industry 4.0.” In brief, the recognized industrial revolutions are: Industry 1.0. The First Industrial Revolution (in the late 18th and early 19th centuries) involved the transition from an agrarian economy to industrial production (e.g. weaving looms and other mechanical devices driven by water wheels and steam), and advances in metallurgy. Industry 2.0. The Second Industrial Revolution (spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries) brought the widespread use of electric power, mass production on assembly lines, and division of labor (e.g., the Chicago and Cincinnati meat packing plants, the Ford Motor Company) - all providing greatly increased productivity. Industry 3.0. The Third Industrial Revolution involved the integration of electronics and information systems into production, providing intensive automation and application of mechanical/robotic manipulation in production processes. In the closing decades of the 20th century, the proliferation of electronic devices (such as transistors and later integrated circuits) allowed more complete automation of individual machines, supplementing or replacing human operators. This period also spanned the full development of software systems for the control of electronic equipment. Industry 4.0. In the 21st century, Industry 4.0 exploits the “Internet of Things” or IoT (Ashton, 2009) with wired or wireless communications connecting cyber-physical systems (CPSs), which share and analyze information and use it to guide actions. Industry 4.0 is based on six principles (Hermann et al., 2016). 1. Interoperability: the ability of machines, devices, sensors, and people to connect and interact to achieve a common goal.