Plain answers.
What ΠAN is, where your data lives, and what the Gear does.
What is ΠAN?
ΠAN stands for Personal AI Network. It is a personal AI that remembers. It keeps your conversations and your work in a database on your own computer, and lets the AI you use read that memory, so it does not start cold every time.
You talk to it from your phone, or from Gear you wear, like the Medallion. It answers out loud and can translate a conversation while it happens. See Software.
Does it need the cloud?
Not for your memory. The database and the small AI models run on your own computer.
For voice, ΠAN asks a fast cloud AI first by default, because speed is what makes talking to it feel natural. So the words you say go to that service. You can set ΠAN to use only the AI on your own computer; then nothing leaves your machine.
Long answers, web searches and hard tasks go to the AI account you already have (for example Claude), under your account. Translation on the phone works offline.
Where does my data live?
On your own disk, in an encrypted database. It is not stored on a ΠAN server.
Pictures from a camera are stored and described on your own computer. They never leave your hardware.
Your phone reaches your computer over a private, encrypted link, without opening your home network to the internet. See Where your data lives.
Do I need an AI account?
For full ΠAN, yes: ΠAN brings the memory, and your AI account does long answers and hard tasks. ΠAN connects to AI apps through MCP, an open standard.
The interpreter is the one part that needs no account: a Medallion and a phone translate with no computer and no internet.
What computer do I need?
A computer at home that stays on, with 8 cores, 32 GB of memory and a 256 GB SSD. A graphics card is not needed; an 8 GB NVIDIA card makes replies faster.
The phone app runs on Android.
What Gear is there?
- Medallion: a chest pendant with a screen, camera, microphones, speaker and flashlight.
- Belt: a trouser belt with 32.6 Wh inside that powers the Medallion and your phone.
- Ring: a signet ring with a small screen for captions and translation.
- Π Node: a solar outdoor box with a day and night camera.
- Power armor: a powered suit for search and rescue.
Can I build one?
Yes. Every design is open: board, schematic, case and parts list. Build it, sell it, improve it. Tell us at makers@thepanproject.com and we test it with ΠAN, help you get it right, and feature it on this site. See For makers.
How do I get a Medallion?
The first run of the Medallion is funded through Kickstarter. See Kickstarter. You can also build one from the open design, or buy one from a maker who builds it.
Is it open source?
The software is under the GNU AGPL v3, with additional terms for the data dividend system. The hardware designs are open. See Licenses.
How do I get in touch?
Write to hello@thepanproject.com. Makers: makers@thepanproject.com.