Industry 4.0: Is It the Time for Interaction Design Craftsmanship?

The technological innovation of Industry4.0 opens up new possibilities for bespoke and unique designs all rooted in the same technology and supported by the same services. Taken together, Cyber-Physical Systems, Cloud Computing and Internet of Things offer a neutral platform for the creation of hybrid digital physical objects. The economy of scale is reached by sharing the same technology across different projects and potentially very different domains. This vision is illustrated by the work done in the meSch project and its platform for the production of novel interactive experiences in museums. Six installations designed by recombining the same electronic components and the same services are used as a case study. They show how the meSch platform is aligned with Industry4.0 principles of enabling dynamic composition, supporting distributed production, and monitoring use for service improvement. As a platform it supports single-piece production and empowers designers to create bespoke solutions with the same technological core.