A Review of Deep Reinforcement Learning Approaches for Smart Manufacturing in Industry 4.0 and 5.0 Framework

In this review, the industry’s current issues regarding intelligent manufacture are presented. This work presents the status and the potential for the I4.0 and I5.0’s revolutionary technologies. AI and, in particular, the DRL algorithms, which are a perfect response to the unpredictability and volatility of modern demand, are studied in detail. Through the introduction of RL concepts and the development of those with ANNs towards DRL, the potential and variety of these kinds of algorithms are highlighted. Moreover, because these algorithms are data based, their modification to meet the requirements of industry operations is also included. In addition, this review covers the inclusion of new concepts, such as digital twins, in response to an absent environment model and how it can improve the performance and application of DRL algorithms even more. This work highlights that DRL applicability is demonstrated across all manufacturing industry operations, outperforming conventional methodologies and, most notably, enhancing the manufacturing process’s resilience and adaptability. It is stated that there is still considerable work to be carried out in both academia and industry to fully leverage the promise of these disruptive tools, begin their deployment in industry, and take a step closer to the I5.0 industrial revolution.