The proliferation of mobile devices in smart factories

The paper covers the topics of integration, maintenance and security. Starting from the benefits of using mobile devices in industrial applications, the white paper explores challenges including security, administrative and legal implications. The paper serves as a guideline on the usage of mobile devices and gives an outlook on future developments and demands.

"The seamless digitalisation of the shop floor enables the provision of valuable information to the operating staff and engineers in near real-time and can easily be managed on mobile devices," said Guenter Feldmeier, fellow at TE’s industrial business unit and global standardisation and consortia leader.

"In addition to classical human-machine interface (HMI), consumer devices will be used more extensively to display such information, which implies huge future opportunities and threats at the same time. This whitepaper elaborates on the challenges and provides practical advice to plant managers and mobile device users as technology allows factories to become more connected and productive."

The whitepaper is part of a series of publications on Industry 4.0 from the Systems Aspects working group of ZVEI's Automation division, chaired by TE’s Feldmeier.