A sequential roadmap to Industry 6.0: Exploring future manufacturing trends

It has been speculated that by the year 2050, technology will have progressed to the point of complete autonomy. This paper scrolls through patent pathways and intellectual developments throughout the industrial revolutions listing significant products and services that landmarked each revolution up to Industry 4.0. The patent trails and the recent IPR inputs are expected to assist readers in fast-tracking up to speed on the bleeding edge of the current research pools while having an eagle's eye perspective on the previous developments so far. The research pools of Industry 4.0 are classified and explored. A lack of Human-machine workforce synergy in Industry 4.0 and the nascent "customized manufacturing" concept is addressed in subsequent sections. The paper classifies two expected phases of Industry 5.0, highlighting the subdomains touted to be its focal areas. Lastly, Industry 5.0's niche research areas are checked and a suitable pathway to achieve the goals set for the sixth revolution is proposed.