Australia must catch up as industry 4.0 heralds fourth industrial revolution

While the world's economy gets ready for smart cities and industry 4.0, experts say bureaucracy and inertia are holding Australia back

The Swiss town of Davos might seem like an unlikely place for a revolution but that was the hot topic for those there to attend the World Economic Forum last month.

"We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work and relate to one another," wrote the economist, engineer and founder of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab. "In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before."