In recent years, the implementation of POC has been promoted before engaging in new business and new product/service development.
What does POC mean and what are its benefits? In this article, I will introduce why POC is needed and some successful cases of POC.
 What is POC
POC is an abbreviation for Proof of Concept, and refers to the process of experimentally verifying whether a new idea or concept is feasible and whether the intended effect can be obtained.
It is often confused with demonstration experiments, but there is a clear difference in that POC is conducted to verify feasibility, whereas demonstration experiments aim to verify problems at the current stage.
 Why do POC
Why should you do a POC in the first place? Here are some of the benefits of doing POC.
 to minimize risk
The first reason is that the implementation of POC reduces development risks.
Although the POC is small and experimental, it not only allows us to verify stability and usability, but also allows us to measure feasibility from various perspectives such as technical aspects. Therefore, it also helps to prevent risks that may occur during the development period.
 to reduce costs
Secondly, there are reductions in costs and development man-hours.
For example, if you proceed with development without POC and realize that the feasibility is low in the middle, the cost and man-hours spent up to that point will be wasted.
However, by conducting POC, we can judge the feasibility at an early stage and do not proceed with development only with the belief that it will work. As a result, it leads to cost and man-hour reduction.
 It becomes an important decision-making material such as investment
The third point is that it becomes an important decision-making material for investors. Development projects require not only technology developers, but also investors to support them.
However, many investors are reluctant to put money into something that they don’t see the future or feasibility of. Therefore, the results of POC are a powerful tool for people involved in development projects, such as investors.
 Points for successful POC
Next, I will explain the points that make POC successful.
 small start
One of the keys to a successful POC is to start small.
For example, if you suddenly try to implement a large-scale POC, not only will you need a certain amount of funds, but the project will take a long time, making it difficult to adjust the schedule.
Originally, POC is designed to measure feasibility and aim to avoid future risks and reduce costs and man-hours.
First, implement a small-scale project, and conduct a POC under the same conditions as the environment after introduction, while confirming the opinions of the site as much as possible.
stand in front of the user
The second is to stand in the user’s perspective.
The user’s point of view is very important not only for POC but also for the development of new products and services.
This is because if you do not develop something that benefits users, it will not lead to profits for the company.
In other words, even if it is technically excellent, it must be something that users want to use.
At the time of POC, let’s look at the user’s point of view and verify if there is a need.
Clarify the effect of introduction
The third is to clearly clarify the effects that will be obtained when the verified system is introduced.
By clarifying and communicating the effects of introducing new technology, it becomes easier to obtain investment from companies.
It is also important to consider in advance what kind of business the introduction of new technology will lead to. Let’s not just implement POC, but also look at the development after implementation.
POC success story
Finally, I would like to introduce some success stories of POC using AI.
 Visualization of congestion
The first one is a solution for real-time visualization of food court congestion, which Secure Co., Ltd. and Headwaters Co., Ltd. conducted POC.
In order to consider the privacy of customers visiting the store, an AI camera was introduced to the food court. The camera acquires the image of the food court. By detecting customers through image analysis and sending only their location information to the cloud, the customer information is replaced with icons and sent to a web page that anyone can view.
Through POC, not only can anyone remotely check the congestion status of each area, but also visually notify foreigners of the congestion status.
 Welding inspection by AI
The second case I would like to introduce is a case where Toshiba Digital & Consulting Co., Ltd., Gestamp S.p.A. in Spain, and Gestamp’s German factory conducted a POC on welding inspection of chassis parts using AI and IoT.
In this project, the AE sensor, which has been used to detect damage to large-scale buildings, has been introduced into the manufacturing process at the factory, making it possible to inspect welding with higher accuracy than before.
In addition, this POC has expanded the range of AE sensor utilization, and has realized partnerships with many companies, including Gestamp.
 summary
In this article, we introduced what POC is, the benefits of POC implementation, and success stories.
POC has come to be used in various situations, not only to measure the feasibility of new services and ideas, but also to gain support from investors and companies planning to enter the project.
However, on the other hand, POC itself becomes a purpose as POC attracts attention, and there are cases where POC is easily used even if the POC step is not necessary or should be verified by a method other than POC.
First, set the goal of the project firmly, and if you decide that POC is necessary to reach that goal, start small and use POC.
