Information technology for the factory of the future - state of the art and need for action

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is a key factor for the factory of the future - acting as an 'enabling technology', as it were. For production, ICT is a tool, not an end in itself. In the future, the shop floor will be increasingly supported by ICT components, which, in turn, will start to network themselves. In the following article, some of the areas of current activity and the effects of the increasing use of ICT will be described