Information integration for Industry 5.0: A review of IIoT–edge–cloud architectures with 6G/ISAC capabilities

Industry 5.0 reframes industrial digitalisation from a predominantly efficiency-oriented Industry 4.0 paradigm towards human-centric, sustainable and resilient value creation. At the same time, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) infrastructures, IIoT-edge-cloud computing continuums and emerging 6G-enabled communications are reshaping how industrial information is captured, transported and integrated across heterogeneous assets and organisations. However, the concrete ways in which industrial information integration (I3) should evolve to support Industry 5.0 goals, and how IIoT, 6G/Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) and lab-scale testbeds can be orchestrated to this end, remain fragmented across conceptual and technical contributions. This paper offers an integrative review of I3 for Industry 5.0, with a specific focus on IIoT-edge-cloud architectures, 6G/ISAC capabilities and evidence from lab-scale testbeds. The study contrasts Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 in terms of value propositions, human roles, information flows and integration requirements. Furthermore, it synthesises representative Industry 5.0 frameworks and governance initiatives with implications for IIoT-based information integration and sustainability management, analyses how 6G and ISAC can meet the communication and sensing requirements of IIoT-enabled industrial services along the IIoT-edge-cloud continuum, and examines lab-scale implementations for information-rich Industry 5.0 scenarios. Across these strands, the paper adopts an integration-oriented lens that systematically maps Industry 5.0 value dimensions to enabling technologies and governance instruments, linking conceptual frameworks, communication stacks and experimental platforms. • Idea-driven review of Industrial Information Integration (I3) for Industry 5.0. • Three-dimensional taxonomy for IIoT-edge-cloud integration architectures. • Mapping 6G/ISAC capabilities to IIoT-based Industry 5.0 service requirements. • AI placement, interoperability and data governance along the I3 continuum. • Lab-scale Industry 5.0 testbeds for technology and sustainability management.