A new study by technology market research company Vason Bournehas found that 75% of IT and field service leaders believe that machines will receive better, preventative healthcare than human beings by 2020.

IT and field service leaders surveyed believe advancements in machines having the ability to predict failure, and take preventative measures or self-healing actions are widely viewed as beneficial to a company’s bottom line. For example:

• 46% of respondents say machines requesting help themselves will help their company better manage their equipment assets

• 39% of respondents say predictive maintenance would help better manage asset equipment

• 44% of respondents say digital twin with predictive maintenance and artificial intelligence would help prevent major failures

• 69% of respondents say they would like their own personal digital twin to help themselves and medical professionals regulate their health in non-invasive ways by taking early action and preventative measures.

The study, entitled: After The Fall: Cost, Causes and Consequences of Unplanned Downtime, surveyed 450 field service and IT decision makers in the UK, US, France and Germany across the medical, manufacturing, oil and gas, energy and utilities, telecoms, distribution, logistics and transport sectors, among others.

According to Gartner, by 2020, 10% of emergency field service work will be both triggered and scheduled by artificial intelligence. The new study highlights the impact of new technology like artificial intelligence, analytics, and use of a digital twin on how we monitor industrial machines to predict when a piece of equipment will fail and what preventative service maintenance is required.