CAIR was established in October 1986. Its research focus was initially in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, and Control systems. In November 2000, R&D groups working in the areas of Command, Control, Communications & Intelligence (C3I) systems, Communication and Networking, and communication secrecy in Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE) were merged with CAIR. CAIR, which was operating from different campuses across Bangalore has now moved to a new unified campus.