Prospects of application of IoT-based advanced technologies in remanufacturing process towards sustainable development and energy-efficient use

Developing countries are becoming the factory of the world where sustainable production is still far from developed countries. However, the acceleration of the 4.0 revolution with a close connection with the Internet of Things (IoT) achievements has forced developing countries to integrate with the trend of a circular and sustainable economy. In this paper, the emerging digital technologies of Industry 4.0 which concentration on the contribution of IoT, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Big Data in remanufacturing are reviewed. Based on IoT, remanufacturing, circular economy, and smart manufacturing, this paper has made the assessment and discussed the challenges and barriers of the 4th industrial revolution to remanufacturing, as well as the amazing opportunities that IoT technologies can contribute to the growth of the remanufacturing industry in developing countries. A value-creation perspective consists of the product which is remanufactured, the equipment and processes of remanufacturing which are adopted and associated with troubles of organization, are used to identify trends and gaps. Suggestions from findings show that it is necessary to detect the combination between cyber-physical systems and the IoT architecture to assistant smart remanufacture, parallel with developing data and infrastructures of communication and circular economy management models. It is clear that, in order to successfully develop the remanufacturing industry, emerging economies need to fully utilize the achievements of IoT technology through economic development strategies and policies in line with Industry 4.0 to create breakthroughs in sustainable circular economy development. © 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.