The Tech Enabling China's 'Dark Factories'
They are not just prototypes or experiments. They are the beginning of a transformation.
Isla Sibanda, Industrial Engineering News
Aug 27, 2025
China is entering a new age of manufacturing with the rise of 'dark factories,' fully automated facilities that operate without any human workers or even lights. Inside these eerily quiet plants, robotic arms weld, cut, and assemble products nonstop. Fleets of autonomous vehicles deliver materials across factory floors without human oversight.
As they are built entirely around machines, these factories eliminate the need for lighting, heating, break rooms, and other human-centric infrastructure.
The result is a system optimized for continuous productivity. It reduces costs, improves precision, and functions at all hours. Powering this new production paradigm is a convergence of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), advanced robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and dense sensor networks. Together, they create self-regulating ecosystems where machines work together with extraordinary coordination, even with the lights off.
Industrial Engineering News |
