TCS launches fully automated facility in Pune to advance AI-led manufacturing

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Wednesday announced the launch of an Industrial Autonomy & Engineering Lab at its Sahyadri Park campus in Pune, which the IT major described as India's first lights-out factory lab aimed at advancing artificial intelligence (AI)-led manufacturing.

A lights-out factory refers to a manufacturing facility where autonomous systems operate production lines with minimal human intervention.

In a regulatory filing, TCS said the new facility houses a fully robotic battery pack assembly line. The live multi-stage setup will allow manufacturers to prototype, validate and scale AI-first production systems while reducing deployment risks.

The facility simulates how self-optimising factories can automate workflows by combining digital twins, robotics, industrial AI, factory control systems and real-time operational intelligence, the company said.

"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," said Sreenivasa Chakravarti, Global Head & Vice President of Industrial Autonomy and Engineering at TCS.

The Pune lab will support multiple industrial use cases, including predictive maintenance, automated quality inspection, real-time process optimisation, human-machine collaboration and autonomous factory operations.