P&C Solution
| P&C Solution | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Augmented reality, Extended reality |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Founder | Choi Chi-won |
| Headquarters | Seoul, South Korea |
| Notable Personnel | Choi Chi-won (CEO) |
| Products | See-through AR glasses, XR simulators |
| Website | https://www.pncsolution.co.kr |
P&C Solution (Korean: 피앤씨솔루션) is a South Korean Extended Reality company that develops see-through Augmented Reality glasses and immersive simulation platforms, best known for its METALENSE line of standalone AR headsets. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, and is led by chief executive Choi Chi-won.[1][2] P&C Solution began as a maker of defense training simulators and moved into see-through AR hardware around 2018, focusing on enterprise and mission-critical sectors such as defense, manufacturing, healthcare, and construction.[1][3]
The company's hardware uses a proprietary geometric optical design built into plastic lenses, which it says improves light efficiency and external light transmittance compared with conventional diffractive optics, an approach aimed at keeping digital content readable in bright outdoor conditions.[4] P&C Solution reports holding more than 170 patents and is a member of the Augmented Reality Enterprise Alliance.[1]
History
P&C Solution was founded in 2015. According to the company, its early business centered on defense and military training simulators, and it began concentrating on see-through AR devices in 2018.[1] Chief executive Choi Chi-won has framed the company's ambition in terms of building glasses to rival those of Meta and Apple, saying in one interview, "My hope is that in five years' time, we'll have developed top-tier glasses surpassing the standards set by Meta and Apple."[2]
In December 2021 the company announced what it described as Korea's first standalone AR glasses, an Android-based device using Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR2 platform that could render augmented reality without being tethered to a phone, relying on the company's own AI engine and visual SLAM technology.[5] Around the same period the company was selected as a Korean "K-baby unicorn" and won a government project for an XR-based air force training metaverse platform.[5] P&C Solution has exhibited at the Augmented World Expo (AWE) in the United States every year since 2021 and has shown its products at CES across multiple years.[6][3]
Technology
P&C Solution's glasses are optical see-through devices that overlay digital content on the real world. The central piece of technology is the company's geometric optical design, which is implemented in plastic lenses. P&C Solution says this design raises light efficiency and external light transmittance compared with traditional diffractive optics, which helps keep imagery bright and clear.[4][7] The company markets its displays as among the brightest and clearest in the AR and XR glasses category.[2]
The hardware runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon XR silicon and supports on-device spatial tracking. P&C Solution pairs the headsets with its own software stack, including an AI engine and visual SLAM for tracking and spatial recognition, and a remote assistance platform that supports multi-party augmented reality collaboration and the sharing of large files.[5][3] The company has also worked with a European software developer on its remote collaboration platform.[3]
Products
P&C Solution's flagship product line is METALENSE, a family of standalone see-through AR glasses. The original METALENSE launched in 2022 on the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 platform and was named a CES 2023 Innovation Award honoree.[1][4][2] Its successor, METALENSE 2, was unveiled at CES 2024 and adds a higher-resolution display and improved outdoor visibility.[4][7]
| Product | Year | Type | Notable specs and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| METALENSE | 2022 | Standalone AR glasses | Built on the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 platform; named a CES 2023 Innovation Award honoree[1][4][2] |
| METALENSE 2 | 2024 | Standalone AR glasses | Unveiled at CES 2024; Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2; dual Micro-OLED displays at 2560x1440 per eye (QHD); 45-degree diagonal field of view; 60Hz; up to 1200 nits; 6DoF tracking with two cameras; 8GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB storage; Android 10; about 618 g with interchangeable rechargeable batteries; plastic geometric-optic lenses[4][7] |
The original METALENSE has been applied in fields such as dental implant surgery, where the glasses can show the spatial relationship between a drill tip and a patient's nerves, as well as in defense, manufacturing, construction, and education.[2][3]
Reception and recognition
The original METALENSE was named an Innovation Award honoree at CES 2023, and P&C Solution has cited the device in connection with a Prime Minister's Award in South Korea.[4][3] METALENSE 2 was nominated for Best Headworn Device at the Auggie Awards during AWE USA 2024.[6] The company is recognized primarily for the brightness and outdoor readability of its plastic geometric optics and for targeting enterprise and front-line worker use cases rather than the consumer media-glasses market favored by some rivals.[6][2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "P&C Solution Co., Ltd.". https://thearea.org/area-members/pc-solution-co-ltd/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "Shaping the Digital World With Metalense Smart Glasses". https://www.theworldfolio.com/news/shaping-the-digital-world-with-metalense-smart-glasses/5004/.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "P&C Solution Unveils Remote Assistance Solutions at AWE USA 2023, Participating for the Third Consecutive Year". June 1, 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pc-solution-unveils-remote-assistance-solutions-at-awe-usa-2023-participating-for-the-third-consecutive-year-301835474.html.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 "P&C Solution to unveil its 'METALENSE 2' XR headset at CES 2024". https://www.auganix.org/xr-news-pc-solution-to-unveil-its-metalense-2-xr-headset-at-ces-2024/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "P&C Solution Develops Korea's First-ever 'Standalone AR Glasses'". December 24, 2021. https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/pc-solution-develops-koreas-first-ever-standalone-ar-glasses.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "P&C Solution to Participate in AWE USA 2024 with XR Glasses Powered by Snapdragon". June 2024. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pc-solution-to-participate-in-awe-usa-2024-with-xr-glasses-powered-by-snapdragon-302158850.html.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "P&C Solution to Unveil New Product 'METALENSE 2' at CES 2024". December 21, 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pc-solution-to-unveil-new-product-metalense-2-at-ces-2024-302021394.html.