Industry 4.0 and Beyond

mere technical topic to encompass a broad research domain (Xu, 2000).In this special issue, four survey papers provide a comprehensive overview of the current advancements in Industry 4.0 (Chen et al., 2024;Oks et al., 2024;Sigov et al., 2024; Zhang et al., 2024a).One critical application within Industry 4.0 is the development of smart contracts, which traditionally rely on prescribed program code for automated execution.However, MNL offers the potential for universal computer understandability (Qin et al., 2024).A fundamental principle of Industry 4.0 is vertical integration.Tabim et al. (2024) developed a framework with 22 factors deployed across three decision stages (knowledge, persuasion, and final decision) and three primary dimensions of analysis: technology, organization, and environment.Additionally, Berger et al. (2024) utilized Petri Nets to provide modular SFN components for modeling SFN architectures and simulating stochastic attack and error propagation.This supports the analysis and comparison of different SFN architectures regarding information spread, availability of production components, and impacts on productivity.Li et al. (2024c) explored new directions for research in 5G/6Genabled IoT and emerging trends in IoT technologies.They addressed challenges such as massive IoT device access, network performance, security, standardization, and critical applications.Their investigation highlights how technologies like 5G, zero-trust security, and blockchain will drive innovation in IoT.