Industry 4.0: Germany’s new industrial policy. OSW Report April 2019

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is characterised by the extensive use of the internet and the computerisation & roboticisation of all spheres of the economy. Its symbols today are smartphones and electric cars, but in the near future we will witness the creation and use of smart cities, smart electrical grids and smart factories. Today’s industry is changing at an unprecedented rate. The earlier industrial revolutions, i.e. periods of fundamental changes in the modes of production and communication, proceeded at a much slower pace than those we are observing today. The first industrial revolution utilised coal and steam to mechanise production and transport. The second disseminated the means of mass production by the use of electricity and the internal combustion engine. The third, digital revolution, which began in the middle of the last century, automated industrial production and globalised communication. The German economy, which reached a very high level of sophistication in the industries of the first and second industrial revolutions – in heavy industry, electronics and the automotive branch – did not benefit so greatly from the digital revolution