The smart appliance industry is currently at a crossroads. Analysts expect to see impressive growth for these products. But several challenges threaten to stymie its progression.

In 1886, Josephine Garis Cochrane patented her design for the first automatic dishwasher. In 1908, the Hurley Machine Company of Chicago introduced the first electric-powered washing machine. In 1913, Fred W. Wolf’s invention of the first commercially viable electric refrigerator in the United States hit the market.

Manufacturing execution systems (MES) are critical elements of Industry 4.0. When all production processes are linked and synchronized with the overall operation, manufacturers have a strategic tool that enables them to improve productivity, streamline costs, boost quality and reduce time to market.

In an increasingly connected world with the introduction of machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, technologies such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, Z-wave, and Wi-Fi have opened up wireless prototyping opportunities not only for major corporations but small businesses and hobbyists.

One hundred years ago, a vertically integrated manufacturing complex in Schenectady, NY, defined the company behind the famous blue monogram. Today, the future of General Electric is in San Ramon, CA. That’s the home of GE Digital.