Global megatrends and their effects on the production of the future

Summary form only given, as follows. Global trends - such as the vastly increasing number of megacities, the increase of the average life expectancy and the growth in world population ?? are changing the requirements of future production plants using discrete and process technology. In this context, one important aspect will be the continued optimizing of operational resources and raw materials to ensure the supply of acceptable resources for mankind. But the growing dynamism of the markets and ever shorter product lifecycles, too, are part of the core requirements of the Production of the Future. To implement these requirements, there are interesting approaches such as the Digital Factory, Autonomous Components or Plug&Play.