The branch of optical science will revolutionize the controls and management of production processes, avoiding errors and contamination on final products
Photonics will help the industries of the future. But don't imagine distant scenarios with super high-tech factories. This branch of optical science is already poised to revolutionize businesses in the fourth industrial revolution. Thanks to this technology, companies will have a higher quality of production.
Photonics is a branch of optics that studies how to control the propagation of individual photons, which make up light. In its application in the industrial field it will allow to manage an impressive number of information about the quality of the single product made by a company. This will allow to avoid errors in the production phase and therefore waste. But photonics will also decrease consumption in the welding, design and even lighting phases of industries. The latest generation of photonic sensors, in fact, make it possible to receive information on the physical and chemical qualities of a product during its manufacture.
Photonics and Artificial Intelligence
Combining these photonic sensors with artificial intelligence will provide an elaborate analysis of all the production processes of a single company. With this technique, an SME, or a large enterprise, will be able to keep an eye on every stage of the realization of a product. Among the most widely used technologies within photonic sensors are infrared spectroscopy and optical biosensors. Spectroscopy works quite simply. Starting from the analysis of light absorbed by the studied matter returns the exact chemical composition of that particular product. On the contrary, with advanced vision techniques and optical biosensors companies will be able to carry out more in-depth controls on products, tracing contaminations or errors. In recent years, these technologies have become increasingly specialized and miniaturized, and their cost of use has also dropped significantly. For this reason, according to several Industry 4.0 experts, they represent a new frontier towards maximum efficiency for a company in the near future.