Pune: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has launched the TCS Industrial Autonomy and Engineering Lab – Lights-Out Factory at its Sahyadri Park campus in Pune, marking what the company describes as India’s first lights-out factory lab.
The facility will demonstrate how manufacturing assembly lines can use artificial intelligence (AI), digital twins, robotics and factory systems to automate and optimise operations.
The TCS Industrial Autonomy and Engineering Lab will simulate how self-optimising factories can automate operations using the TCS Human+AI Service Autonomy Model.
The facility brings together digital twins, robotics, industrial AI, factory control systems and real-time operational intelligence, combining these technologies for live manufacturing environments.
A lights-out factory is a manufacturing unit where autonomous systems can run production with minimal human intervention.
The Pune facility houses a fully robotic battery pack assembly line, making it the first lab in India to demonstrate the principles of lights-out manufacturing.
The TCS Industrial Autonomy and Engineering Lab will use simulations on the live setup, which features multiple stages of production, to help manufacturers prototype, validate and scale AI-first production systems.
Also Read: Maharashtra to Become India’s First “Tokenized State”: CM Devendra Fadnavis
The Pune lab is designed to address a key challenge faced by manufacturers in translating Industry 4.0, AI and robotics concepts into practical operating models.
The facility provides customers with a controlled setting to explore industrial scenarios, assess their suitability for production environments and reduce deployment risk.
Through the TCS Industrial Autonomy and Engineering Lab, manufacturers can explore how emerging technologies can be integrated into engineering, manufacturing and factory operations.
The TCS Industrial Autonomy and Engineering Lab – Lights-Out Factory is the latest addition to TCS’ Industrial Autonomy and Engineering innovation footprint.
Earlier this year, TCS launched the TCS Industrial Autonomy and Engineering Lab Powered by NVIDIA in Bengaluru to accelerate Physical AI innovation for industrial and mobility applications.
As part of TCS’ Industrial Autonomy and Engineering capabilities, the facility supports a range of industry use cases, including predictive maintenance, automated quality inspection, real-time process optimisation, human-machine collaboration and autonomous factory operations.
Joakim Landholm, SVP Commercial & Operations Development, SKF, said, “Reducing friction has always been central to industrial progress, and the next wave of manufacturing will depend on smarter, more energy-efficient, and more reliable operations.
We see TCS Industrial Autonomy & Engineering Lab – Lights-Out Factory as an important step in helping industry translate advanced automation and industrial AI into measurable operational value.”
Sreenivasa Chakravarti, Global Head & Vice President of Industrial Autonomy and Engineering, TCS, said, “When we think of a manufacturing facility, we picture legacy factories and heavy equipment, that run on intense manual effort. At TCS, we are reimagining those environments and building factories for the future.
With our state-of-the-art TCS Industrial Autonomy & Engineering Lab – Lights-Out Factory, we are advancing TCS’ vision of engineering AI-first production systems. We have built a facility that can help customers turn their aspiration of lights-out manufacturing into a reality.
The lab provides a tangible demonstration of how the Human + AI model can help enterprises progress from digitally enabled operations to increasingly autonomous production systems.”
The TCS Industrial Autonomy and Engineering Lab comes as manufacturers face increasing pressure to remain agile, improve outcomes and keep pace with evolving operational complexities.
The new facility enables customers to move beyond isolated automation initiatives and explore integrated approaches to engineering, manufacturing and operations.
The Pune facility focuses on interconnected capabilities spanning engineering, manufacturing and factory operations. These capabilities provide a practical environment to explore emerging industrial technologies and operating models.
Key capabilities of the TCS Industrial Autonomy and Engineering Lab – Lights-Out Factory
- Autonomous Factory Concepts: The facility supports AI-enabled production optimisation, predictive maintenance, quality inspection and resilient operations.
- Digital Twin and Simulation Environments: Virtual models and test environments allow manufacturers to validate factory scenarios before real-world deployment.
- Vision AI, Robotics and Industrial Automation: The lab supports use cases involving machine perception, adaptive workflows and human-machine collaboration.
- Sensor-to-Cloud Industrial Intelligence: The facility connects shop-floor signals with edge and cloud platforms to enable real-time, context-aware decision-making.
- Software-Defined Engineering: The capabilities help industrial systems evolve continuously through software, data and AI-driven automation.
The TCS Industrial Autonomy and Engineering Lab is part of TCS’ ongoing work in industrial autonomy, smart manufacturing, engineering transformation and AI-led enterprise modernisation.
With the launch of the lights-out factory in Pune, TCS continues to work towards its commitment to build a more intelligent, connected and sustainable tomorrow by enabling manufacturers to reimagine products, plants and operations.
