Advanced Centre for Electronics Systems (ACES) came into existence in early 1970 by a grant from the Ministry of Defence to undertake manpower training and to carry out research and development related to defence. Subsequently, several sponsored projects in many subject areas with large interdisciplinary content were handled through ACES.

ACES is now an integral part of Electrical Engineering Department and houses majority of Electrical Engineering Laboratories and Facilities. Electrical Engineering Department is currently the largest multidisciplinary department at IIT Kanpur and covers practically all sub-disciplines under Electrical Power, Electronics and Communications.