Status of Smart Manufacturing in the United States

Smart Manufacturing (SM) has been widely recognized as a groundbreaking advanced manufacturing trend that will revolutionize the manufacturing industries and profoundly influence human society. Although the Industry 4.0-based Smart Manufacturing has been a conversation topic for many manufacturing media, strategists, and leaders, many in the field are uncertain what SM entails, its importance, or how it is even relevant to their organizations. Programs in deploying SM technologies have been under development in Germany, European Union, and Korea since 2011. This paper investigates the current status of Smart Manufacturing in the United States, and the trends in its technologies such as Industrial Internet of Things and artificial intelligence in standardized industrial robotics.