Thierry E. Klein
President, Bell Labs Solutions Research, Nokia
The next wave of digitalisation is poised to be more human-centric, where automation and productivity remain key but human needs like safety, sustainability and personalisation also feature.
Thierry Klein, president of Bell Labs Solutions Research at Nokia, explains: “Industry 4.0 has been all about digitalisation, automation and bringing robotics into industrial sectors like manufacturing and logistics — but we haven’t really factored in the human aspect.”
Industry 5.0 focus on wellbeing
Industry 5.0 seeks to correct this. “With Industry 5.0, we’re still using the same technologies, but now we are focusing on how to make sure the workforce stays connected, safe, and healthy,” adds Klein. “We are optimising not just for productivity, but also for sustainability and safety – it’s as much a mindset revolution as it is a technological one.”
Collaborative robots enhance safety
A key example of this shift is seen in the use of collaborative robots, or ‘cobots’, which work alongside humans to accomplish tasks. “Robots are very good at doing things we either want to do but can’t, or tasks we simply don’t want to do. But now, instead of replacing humans, they’re working with us,” says Klein. “For example, in a factory or warehouse, robots and people can work together more safely because we’re giving robots global awareness of their environment.”
Business resilience is about being flexible and adapting to changes, whether those changes are technological or environmental.
The integration of AI, cloud computing and connected technologies plays a crucial role in this in this new human-machine collaboration. Nokia Bell Labs is also working on dynamic digital twins for industrial use cases. These digital twins provide real-time understanding and insights into the operation of a physical environment such as a factory or a warehouse. By bringing together technological advances from computer vision, localisation, analytics and ‘robot orchestration,’ Nokia Bell Labs is providing a solution with broader situational awareness where, instead of each robot making decisions independently, all robots coordinate with one another and with humans. This prevents safety hazards and optimises efficiency. For example, these technologies can tell a robot to slow down if it detects a person nearby or can warn the worker about approaching machinery.
Proactive resilience focus
This safety-first approach is one of the ways Industry 5.0 could lead to greater business resilience. “Business resilience is about being flexible and adapting to changes, whether those changes are technological or environmental,” explains Klein. “It can be business or operations-related, weather and climate-related, geopolitical or technological — Industry 5.0 is all about being proactive in the face of these challenges.”
In this next phase of digitalisation, the human element will no longer be an afterthought. Instead, it will be a driving force behind the design and implementation of technologies that optimise both productivity and wellbeing. Businesses that prioritise this balance will be the most resilient.
