At best, all our attempts to create sustainable societies can only be regarded as feeble: with recycling that does not work; energy sources and transportation that continue to pollute; and industries continuing to operate at very low ecological efficiencies. Recycling bins, solar panels and electric vehicle have a great feel-good factor, but mostly incur far cost more than they save! The big gains can only be realized by an industrial and supply chain revolution. Continuing to polish what we already have merely put off the day of collapse. Despite understanding the ultimate cost of climate change and the denuding of planet earth of irreplaceable materials, most nations choose to turn a blind eye to focus on the national interest. At the same time, human populations consume over 1.5 planets worth of renewables every year. "We have to stop producing more and more for the few and start supplying sufficient for the many” At the core of this complex situation, a prime solution occurs at the cusp of nano-tech, biotech, AI and robotics. Here we can create the new materials and processes that far exceed the performance of everything we have today. It is here the amplification of limited human thinking, imagination and creativity occur. The ability to create and recover materials at high efficiency, manipulate and form them at minimal energy, is the ‘lynchpin’ of ID4.0. Pulling turbine blades from a single crystal, 3/4D printing of plastics, ceramics, and metals to create manifolds and other complex forms are now common examples. However, R&D engineers and scientists are realizing programmable materials using plastic and biological alternatives that can self-repair, change-colour, store energy and offer programmable shape on demand. Unprecedented strength to weight ratios and performance with minimal processing cost and maximal material recovery are also emerging. Today, components traverse the planet many times from producer to assembly shops and then the final system integrator, but if we move to material printing and programming close to, or on, the site of use, we would only have to ship materials in solid, powder and/or fluid form with massive logistic cost reductions. Add to all this: vertical farms in cities and towns growing food at the point of need; the dispersement of energy generation and storage, and we are far closer to reality, rather than politically correct, sustainability. And how comfortable it all sits with the internet, IoT, BlockChain, GigEconomy, Publishing, eCommerce and Social Nets

1. WHY
ID4
P e t e r C o c h r a n e
c o c h r a n e . o r g . u k

2. We live in a closed system:
We see no alternatives at this
time…damaging this planet
endangers every species
including our own
As guardians we have a
responsibility & duty of
care to address/solve all
the issues of sustainability

3. What we know
for sure:
The problems confronting
mankind demand far more
t h a n c h a n g i n g a l l t h e
lightbulbs. What is before
us is not trivial or simple, it
is wide-ranging, complex,
and universal…no one, and
no thing, can escape the
implications/consequences of
our future actions

4. What we know
for sure:
Global warming is a real
and growing threat…and
the human cost will include
mass migrations and loss of
life on a huge scale… it has
to be addressed from the
stance of causality out into
the extremes of the solution
space…

5. What we know
for sure:
Today’s societies/industries
are far too wasteful…and
we have to find new ways
of living, working, and
doing…the planet cannot
support any species that
insists on such wholesale
destruction of materials and
resources

6. What we know
for sure:
There is sufficient to feed,
clothe and house everyone
if it were not for the high
levels of waste…and greed
feeding a relentless drive
toward personal reward and
r i c h e s a m p l i f i e d b y a n
u n w o r k a b l e e c o n o m i c
model…

7. What we know
for sure:
We are now consuming an
estimated 1.5x the planet’s
sustainable consumables
per year….the clock is
ticking Sustainable
finite
supply
Out of
control
consumption

8. What we know
for sure:
Today’s recycling efforts
appear sensible and they can
be shown in a favourable
light by the emotionally
driven, but the reality is most
schemes fall far short of the
claims whilst others make a
negative impact and may be
destructive in the long term..

9. What we know
for sure:
We a r e p o l l u t i n g o u r
environment on a scale and
at an unprecedented pace
in every domain above and
below the sea, and this has
r a m i f i c a t i o n s f o r t h e
survival of all species, and
especially ours…as:
“no organism can survive in
its own waste material”

10. What we know
for sure:
We are denuding the planet
of precious & irreplaceable
materials…that will run out
within a few generations…
oil, gas, minerals, metals+++
are finite resources that
cannot be replenished…

11. What we know
for sure:
Energy generation is not
the big issue, but energy
storage is: without efficient
storage solar, wind and wave
power are not going to
realise their full potential or
invoke the change required

12. What we know
for sure:
Continuing to polish our
old processes & industries
will not realise sustainable
societies…and will definitely
not address any of the big
issues facing our species and
the planet !

13. What we know
for sure:
The distribution of wealth
and resources is far from
equitable…and if we wish
to see social and political
stability…
“we have to stop producing
more and more for the few to
start providing sufficient for
the many”

14. What we know
for sure:
The capitalist system is too
simple minded and will
destroy the environment
and all natural resources if
c o n t i n u e s u n c h e c k e d /
unmodified… managing the
basis of the £, $, €, ¥, is
fundamentally untenable and
damaging…we need to at
least account for the impact
on society and environment
in the long term…

15. What we know
for sure:
Our old industries and their
processes were necessary to
achieve the status-quo, but
they are fundamentally
incapable of powering us
into a sustainable future…
that demands new materials,
minimal energy use, very low
level waste and pollution…
humanity in harmony with the
planet and all life forms…

16. What we know
for sure:
There is no one singular
solution or programme that
we can roll to address all
o u r ‘ p l a n e t d a m a g i n g ’
activities…this is a complex
situation that demands an
orchestrated effort across all
mankind, every industry and
every activity…including a
symbiosis with our machines

17. What we know
for sure:
Saving plastic bags, bottles,
yoghurt pots, paper and
cardboard may make us feel
g o o d , b u t i t c h a n g e s
nothing, it only makes the
environment look tidy!

18. What we know
for sure:
Most likely, we now hold all
the vital and necessary
c o m p o n e n t s t o c r e a t e
sustainable societies…but it
all has to start with industry,
the production and supply of
goods, materials, foods,
water and services to sustain
peoples in a manner the
planet can afford!
Robotics
AI
Nano
Tech
BIO
Tech
IOT
Cloud

19. What we know
for sure:
The core essentials of
Nano, Bio, AI and Robotics
necessary to realise new
materials and methods also
require a wrapper of tech
and functional support that
s p a n s d a t a g a t h e r i n g ,
m i n i n g , m a n a g e m e n t ,
s u p e r v i s i o n , s e r v i c e s ,
security….
Robotics
AI
Nano
Tech
BIO
Tech
IOT
Cloud
BIGDATA
SMALL
DATA
Logistics
Production
Services
Support
3R
3 & 4D
Printing
Micro
Forming
ProgramableForming/Shaping
Smart
Materials
Programable
Colouration
Embedded
Intelligence
Micro
Lattice
Structures
SelfRepair
Distributed
Automation
Localised
Production
Human-Robot
Buddy-Buddy Working
Human-AI
Team Working
Machine + AI
Globalisation
New
Materials
Management
Genetics
Proteomics
Stem cells
Smart
Supply
Chains
Auto-Immunity
Sociology
of Things
Autonomous
Security GPS
Tracking

20. ID4: Kernel
Our future has to be based
on new materials, sciences,
technologies, engineering,
p r o c e s s e s , a u t o m a t i o n ,
robotics, organisational and
o p e r a t i n g / m a n a g e m e n t
modes, intelligences and
thinking… and this centres on
N a n o / B i o Te c h , A I a n d
robotics
BIO-TECH nano-TECH
Lower energy
Lower waste
Less friction
New materials
New industries
New processes
New capabilities
Multi-Disciplinary
hot spot for the 21C
AIRobotics

21. ID4: A Necessity
An essential stepping stone
in a progression away from
the destructive practices of
ID1/2/3 and the inherent
exploitation of materials
provided by Mother Nature
alone, and onto the created,
t h e u n n a t u r a l , o f f e r i n g
s u p e r i o r p ro p e r t i e s a n d
performance at much lower
energy, manipulation and
wastage…

22. ID4: Symbiosis
We are now reliant of our
machines to manufacture
highly complex products to
previously unheard of levels
of reliability and performance
…in the ID4 phase they will
help us discover new materials
and methods, to create and
design the new…robots as
work mates…AI as human
intellect amplifiers…

23. ID4: Nano-Tech
New materials, coatings,
structures, properties and
processes…stronger, lighter.
more flexible and resilient…
low energy and low waste
production with very high end
of life material recovery…
Woods
Gels

24. ID4: Nano-Tech
New materials, coatings,
structures, properties and
processes…stronger, lighter.
more flexible and resilient…
greater durability and lower
environmental cost
Coatings
Metals

25. ID4: Nano-Tech
New materials, coatings,
structures, properties and
processes…stronger, lighter.
more flexible and resilient…
providing us with new design
options to create superior and
ever more products faster,
cheaper, at a far lower cost to
the environment..
Light
Absorbing
Heat
Insulating

26. ID4: Bio-Tech
New materials, coatings,
structures, properties and
processes…stronger, lighter,
more flexible and resilient…
reducing the ownership, fix and
repair costs for the life of the
product
Self
healing
concrete
Self
healing
plastics

27. ID4: Bio-Tech
New materials, coatings,
structures, properties and
processes…stronger, lighter.
more flexible and resilient…
programming materials instead
of machining, printing and or
assembling them may not reach
full maturity during the ID4.0
phase…but almost certainly
will during ID5.0…
3D
Printed
Body Parts
Evolved
Clothing
Materials

28. ID4: Bio-Tech
New materials, coatings,
structures, properties and
processes…stronger, lighter.
more flexible and resilient…
promises alternatives to oil
based plastics with the bonus
of being biodegradable and/or
biotransformable at some point
in the life cycle…
Protein
Scaffolding
Cellulose
Packaging
Plastics

29. ID4: Robotics
Human - Robot buddy-buddy
working on production lines,
aiding discovery and R&D
….two different mind sets and
physical attributes/abilities
that complement each other
for this new phase of industry
Humans
assisting
robot
assisting
humans
Human
Robot
Team

30. ID4: Production
Localised facilities cut down
on component part logistics
cost with bulk powders/fluids
shipped direct to small shops
…the potential for transport
saving here is vast…shipping
designs and specifications
instead of products is the next
big step for globalisation…
Plastic
Metal
Po w d e r
Delivery
Small
Local
Company

31. ID4: AI
Human intellect amplification
during the discovery, research,
CRM, design and development
s t a g e s , p l u s d e p l o y m e n t ,
customer deployment support
and long term maintenance…
we are way past the point where
humans are able to solve the
complex problems we now face…
and AI is a vital aid to our
progress and survival
Plastic
Metal
Po w d e r
Delivery
Small
Local
Company
Digital
Melds
With
Analogue
Creativity
& Thinking

32. ID4: IoT + BIG +
small Data
Cloud
Recording and tracking the
material sources, supply lines,
production, shipping, purchase,
delivery, ownership and usage
details through to maintenance,
r e p a i r, r e p u r p o s e , r e u s e ,
recycle including all component
and materials recovery..
Everything
Connected
& Intelligent

33. ID4: Users in the
Design Loop
U s e r h a b i t s , p r e f e r e n c e s ,
difficulties, routines, behaviours
fed back to the design team as
input for the evolutionary
design loop…and perhaps the
end of feature death?
For the first time the mass of
users will be able to directly
influence the design of the
products they buy

34. ID4: What Next ?
To be defined by the discovery
of new materials with new
properties and the intuitive
power of AI + humans to
exploit those properties in a
beneficial and creative way…
Quantum Computing might just
come of age to help out with the
complexity involved…but we may
have to wait for ID5 ….

35. T h a n k Y o u
c o c h r a n e . o r g . u k