FEATURE | REMOTE DEVICES
Remote controlled, better results
Remote technologies for overhead cranes allow operators to keep a safe distance while controlling the lifting and travel movements. However, with new technologies and further developments, remote control technologies have expanded to include features such as anti-sway, collision avoidance, load monitoring and gather operational data. With the onset of Industry 4.0 and technologies such as AI and automation, what can the lifting industry can expect over the next few years for remote control technologies?
contemporary economy. And these industries in no way appear as standing still, especially as Industry 4.0 drives further need to evolve: big data, the internet of things, artificial intelligence (AI), automation, robotics and improved interconnectivity between critical devices. For those who supply cranes, hoists and the remote controls that control such lifting machines, there will be pressure to adapt and keep up. Take warehouses, central to manufacturing and logistics, for example. There are circa one million of these hulking buildings across the US; linked, according to Y Chart data, to 3.4% of Q1 2025 US GDP. Hardly surprising: here, cranes and hoists help with the manufacture of equipment and machines for other industries, to goods loading and storage or sorting of heavy materials. To the regular Joe, these depots might appear
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simple from the outside, but inside, they’re a hive of activity, with a clear focus on improvement. MIT research shows many are already implementing advanced ‘Industry 4.0’ next steps, such as AI- powered robotic arms with advanced sensors. So critical are these leaps forward that the next jump for US manufacturing is expected to start in the warehouse. But leaps forward won’t necessarily always be AI-powered: many involved in manufacturing in these spaces, particularly those using cranes and hoists, will simply want guarantees of safety, efficiency and operational effectiveness.
he intersecting worlds of logistics, manufacturing, construction, agriculture and heavy industry are central to the
Indeed, many are using remote devices to
guarantee and improve on such requirements. Remote devices are a big market: $1.1bn in 2023. With firms that use cranes, lifts and hoists the biggest customer in this market. These often-handheld devices are broadly used for safety (allowing operation from a safe distance in a heavily regulated industry), durability, cost effectiveness, mobility and operational efficiency. A single device can guarantee precise movements of multiple cranes from a safe distance. The best remotes reduce downtime in operations with easy linkability to new machines, reducing training time and potential mistakes with user-friendly interfaces and data- driven feedback on how it operates. But topline analysis shows the remote control
market will also not stand still. Cranes and the like are already powering into Industry 4.0. hooked into IoT, using data and analytics to improve efficiency, safety and life span. This makes sense as industries around them evolve. Indeed, Virtue Market analysis shows market growth – the remote devices market is projected to hit $2.1bn by 2030 – will be driven by Industry 4.0, with remote devices expected to monitor and control equipment remotely, helping with predictive maintenance, part of systems that control factories and manufacturing sites. From within the industry, there’s a sense that suppliers are up for the task. Control Chief Corporation, who have sold such wireless products for 50 years, write that industrial automation, already revolutionising manufacturing and logistics, has industrial remote controls at its heart. But among remote devices suppliers, where is that revolution
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