The New Indian Express ·
Economy, business and finance
TCS launches India’s first lights-out factory lab in Pune
BENGALURU: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has launched India’s first lights-out factory lab at its Sahyadri Park campus in Pune, combining digital twins, robotics and industrial AI to simulate autonomous manufacturing operations.
The TCS Industrial Autonomy & Engineering Lab – Lights-Out Factory is designed to demonstrate how a manufacturing assembly line can operate with minimal human intervention. The facility uses digital twins, robotics, industrial AI, factory control systems and real-time operational intelligence.
At the centre of the lab is a fully robotic battery pack assembly line. TCS said the live setup, which has multiple stages of production, will allow manufacturers to prototype, test and scale AI-based production systems before deploying them in factories.
The lab aims to help manufacturers assess Industry 4.0, AI and robotics applications in a controlled environment and reduce risks linked to deployment. Its capabilities include predictive maintenance, automated quality inspection, real-time process optimisation, human-machine collaboration and autonomous factory operations.
The facility also includes digital twin and simulation environments, Vision AI, industrial automation, sensor-to-cloud intelligence and software-defined engineering.
Sreenivasa Chakravarti, Global Head & Vice President of Industrial Autonomy and Engineering, TCS, said, “At TCS, we are reimagining those environments and building factories for the future.”
He added, “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.”
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.”
The Pune facility expands TCS’ industrial autonomy work. Earlier this year, the company launched the TCS Industrial Autonomy & Engineering Lab Powered by NVIDIA in Bengaluru for Physical AI applications in industrial and mobility sectors.