Poptronic Rentals, Inc

Poptronic, as an Indigenous, female-led tech startup, is committed to bridging the digital divide in Indigenous communities across Canada. Recognizing the transformative potential of VR/AR technology in enhancing learning and cultural experiences, Poptronic is dedicated to making this technology accessible to Indigenous populations.

Poptronic is addressing two of the MIT Solve Challenges for the 2024 Indigenous Communities Fellowship. We are offering a solution to “Drive positive outcomes for indigenous learners of any age and contacts through culturally grounded educational opportunities”. Poptronic is also addressing the “advance community driven digital sovereignty initiatives in indigenous communities including the ethical use of AI, machine learning, and data technologies”.

Studies have shown that VR/AR technology can significantly enhance learning outcomes, particularly in subjects like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). For example, a study published in the Journal of Educational Computing Research found that students who used VR technology for learning achieved higher scores compared to those who used traditional methods.

VR in education is amazing and there is science backing these claims, however, the reality is that many Indigenous communities are facing a digital divide in accessing the technology and finding culturally appropriate material. According to Statistics Canada, Indigenous households are less likely to have access to high-speed internet compared to non-Indigenous households. This lack of access contributes to disparities in digital literacy and access to technology-driven opportunities. One of the main challenges faced by Indigenous communities in adopting VR technology is the high cost of tech hardware. VR headsets and equipment can be expensive, making it difficult for many communities to afford them.

How does Poptronic address these challenges? At Poptronic we have developed a unique rental model that allows Indigenous communities access to utilize state-of-the-art VR equipment, including the Meta Quest 2 and 3 headsets, at a fraction of the cost of purchasing outright.

By renting VR equipment from Poptronic, communities can enjoy the benefits of immersive learning without the financial burden of investing in expensive hardware. We work closely with Indigenous organizations and community leaders to tailor VR solutions to meet the specific needs and cultural preferences of each community. This ensures that the technology is not only accessible but also relevant and meaningful to Indigenous learners.

Poptronic's innovative approach to addressing tech inequality combines affordability, cultural relevance, and community engagement to empower Indigenous communities with transformative VR experiences.

By offering these unique experienced we are also creating more demand for Indigenous culturally relevant VR experiences which leads to more opportunities for our current Indigenous VR developers and inspires the next generation.

Our target population is the members of our own community, Akwesasne, where Poptronic is located. Being part of this community, we have a deep understanding of its culture, values, and needs. Our goal is to directly improve the lives of our community members.

To understand the needs of our community, we actively engage with community members through various channels such as community meetings, hosting digital literacy workshops for all ages, hosting coding and VR camps for kids, cultural events, and direct conversations. By maintaining open and ongoing communication, we ensure that we have a clear understanding of the challenges and aspirations of our community.

As we develop our solutions, we prioritize community input and involvement at every stage. We collaborate closely with community leaders, elders, educators, and youth to co-create technology solutions that address specific community needs. Our community leaders have always been a huge supporter of Poptronic and actively look for ways that we can be involved in other community initiatives. For example, the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne which is our governing body reached out to ask how Poptronic can be used in their departments- this is an ongoing partnership of community driven, innovative problem solving.

In addition to our community-focused approach, Poptronic offers a shipping model that enables us to reach all communities across Canada. This allows us to extend our products and services to Indigenous communities nationwide, providing them with the same opportunities for transformative learning experiences as our local community. Through our shipping model, we aim to bridge the gap between urban and remote communities, ensuring that all Indigenous peoples have access to the technology solutions they need to thrive.

Our team is two female tech start-up entrepreneurs who are uniquely positioned to design and deliver solutions that meet the needs of our target population because of our close ties to the communities we serve. One of our co-founders is from Akwesasne and continues to reside there, while the other co-founder lives in a neighboring community. Our personal connections to these communities give us a deep understanding of their culture, values, and needs.

Both co-founders have formal education in technology and extensive experience in delivering tech education. This combination of academic expertise and hands-on experience allows us to develop solutions that are not only technologically sound but also culturally relevant and impactful. We understand the importance of culturally appropriate technology solutions in Indigenous communities.

By drawing on our collective knowledge, experiences, and insights, we can design and deliver solutions that empower Indigenous peoples to harness the power of technology for their benefit. Our proximity to and intimate understanding of the communities we serve make us the right people to lead this initiative.

Poptronic falls into the "Growth" category because it is an established solution that has been operational since November 2021, serving communities with a consistent design and approach. Despite being relatively new, Poptronic has already made significant strides in developing and implementing its VR technology solutions, particularly in our community. Our rental model, which provides affordable access to VR equipment, has been successfully deployed in our home community of Akwesasne and neighboring areas. Our hardware has been deployed to various community organizations such as schools, boys and girls clubs and learning camps. We have received great feedback and have had multiple return customers.

We successfully visited schools surrounding Akwesanse during the month of Truth and Reconciliation offering a VR viewing experience from the National Film Board of Canada called “This is Not a Ceremony” depicting the historic trauma of Indigenous peoples in Canada. The campaign had a substantial impact on its viewers and several media outlets reached out to cover and share our work.

We placed top 5 in the Skode Indigenous Tourism Pitch Competitiion in Markham Ontario this past March and top 1.5% in the Pow wow Pitch Competition.

One of our co-founders recently has been accepted into a competitive AI curriculum program designed to train her to teach Indigenous people coding skills.

Poptronic seeks Solve's assistance to overcome various barriers hindering our expansion efforts. Financially, we require support to scale our operations and broaden our offerings. This includes developing in-house culturally relevant VR experiences and acquiring additional equipment to facilitate larger-scale services such as full classroom setups and workshops.

Technically, we aim to enhance our tech infrastructure to accommodate the increased demand for our services. This involves investing in advanced VR hardware and software solutions to deliver high-quality immersive experiences. A barrier we are currently facing is that we are being contacted for larger opportunities, but we currently have a fleet of 10 VR headsets. We find ourselves having to turn down amazing opportunities such as a VR language learning school because we do not have enough hardware to accommodate such requests currently.

Legally, we require guidance on navigating regulatory frameworks and compliance requirements associated with expanding our operations. This includes addressing legal considerations related to intellectual property rights, data privacy, and contractual agreements. VR is considerably new territory and with expansion we need to be ahead of legal trends regarding hardware and software.

Culturally, we aim to ensure that our VR experiences are respectful, inclusive, and reflective of Indigenous cultures and traditions. Solve's expertise can help us navigate cultural sensitivities and ensure that our offerings resonate with diverse Indigenous communities across Canada.

In terms of market barriers, we seek assistance in market research and analysis to identify growth opportunities and target demographics. Solve's insights can help us refine our market strategy and effectively penetrate new markets while addressing existing competition.

The Team Lead for Poptronic- Chatnie is deeply connected to the Akwesasne community, where Poptronic is based. Not only is she originally from Akwesasne, but she also continues to reside there, maintaining strong ties to the local community. Her personal and familial connections, along with her intimate knowledge of the community's culture, needs, and aspirations, uniquely position her to lead our project effectively. Chatnie's presence ensures that our initiatives are rooted in the lived experiences and perspectives of the Akwesasne community, fostering trust, engagement, and relevance in our efforts to empower Indigenous learners through VR technology.

In addition to her personal connection to Akwesasne, Chatnie has also served in various roles within community organizations, offering her invaluable insights into Akwesasne's social, cultural, and economic fabric. Through her active involvement in these organizations, Chatnie has developed a deep understanding of the community's needs, challenges, and aspirations. This hands-on experience has further enhanced her ability to effectively lead initiatives that are not only responsive to the community's needs but also respectful of its cultural values and traditions.

Poptronic addresses the challenge of driving positive outcomes for Indigenous learners by offering culturally grounded educational opportunities through immersive VR technology. By tailoring content to specific cultural contexts and engaging our Indigenous community in the development process, Poptronic ensures relevance and accessibility for learners of all ages.

In addition, Poptronic advances community-driven digital sovereignty initiatives by promoting the ethical use of AI, machine learning, and data technologies. By empowering Indigenous communities to harness these technologies in ways that align with their values and priorities, Poptronic fosters greater control over data and technology resources. We also hold workshops educating our community about various tech topics such as coding and AI to expose our community members to STEM subjects which they may have not had access to or an interest in. We believe in creating a spark that will ignite people’s interest in STEM but seeing it in their community and being delivered by a community member. There are potential STEM leaders in our community that may not get that spark elsewhere.

By pioneering these approaches, Poptronic could catalyze broader positive impacts in the education and technology sectors. It could inspire other organizations to adopt similar community-centered approaches to technology development and usage, leading to more inclusive and culturally relevant solutions for Indigenous communities. This could ultimately change the market landscape by shifting the focus towards more ethical and community-driven practices in technology development and implementation. By shifting more light on Indigenous people in STEM such as Poptronic we are improving our visibility in the tech sector, creating awareness and creating that demand for more curriculum, development and representation around Indigenous culture in VR.

At Poptronic, our theory of change is straightforward: by providing accessible tech to our community members that are culturally grounded, creating educational opportunities through immersive VR applications. we aim to empower Indigenous learners and advance digital sovereignty initiatives in our community.

Our activities include:

-Offering VR content tailored to specific cultural contexts and educational needs to our community members and organizations/programs.

-Engaging our community in the development process to ensure relevance and accessibility.

-Promoting the ethical use of machine learning, data technologies, computer science and VR in alignment with community values.

-Increasing visibility of Indigenous people in tech and increasing demand of Indigenous related content/curriculum.

-Increasing community use of VR specifically for education and social programs.

Our immediate outputs include:

-Curating culturally relevant VR experiences and educational content for our community members and organizations/programs.

-Increased engagement and participation from community members and organizations/programs.

-Adoption of ethical data and technology practices within our communities.

-Increased learning and interest in tech and computer science.

-Longer-term outcomes such as:

-Improved educational outcomes and skills development among Indigenous learners in our community.

-Enhanced digital sovereignty and control over data and technology resources.

-Increased cultural preservation and revitalization through technology-enabled learning experiences.

-Higher visibility of Indigenous people in the tech space.

-Community being more open to the endless possibilities of VR and tech in education and community services.

-Our children being equally adapt to modern educational technologies on par with other non-Indigenous communities- having the same opportunities.

Our theory of change is supported by research on the effectiveness of culturally grounded education and the importance of community-driven approaches to technology development. Additionally, feedback from interviews and consultations with our target population informs and validates our approach.

Our impact goals at Poptronic are focused on creating positive outcomes for Indigenous learners and communities by increasing tech accessibility, offering culturally appropriate VR applications, increasing and utilizing education in tech, and creating Indigenous visibility.

Increase Tech Accessibility: Our goal is to increase access to technology, particularly VR, for Indigenous learners and communities who may face barriers to technology adoption. We will measure progress by tracking the number of individuals and community organizations/programs who have accessing our VR equipment and resources.

Culturally Appropriate VR Applications: We aim to develop VR applications that are culturally relevant and respectful of our traditions, languages, and knowledge systems. Progress will be measured through feedback from community members.

Education in Tech: We seek to increase education in technology among our community learners by providing training, workshops, and resources that build digital literacy and technical skills. Progress will be measured by assessing changes in participants' knowledge and confidence in using technology.

Indigenous Visibility: Our goal is to increase visibility and representation of Indigenous perspectives, voices, and experiences in the tech industry and broader society. Progress will be measured by tracking any increase in Indigenous related VR/AR programs, applications, developers, new VR users, community programs using/demanding culturally relevant applications/curriculum, greater online presence of Indigenous people in VR/AR etc, increased demand in our hardware/applications to deliver VR experiences/learning in a wider sense (clients using our service/application for training workshops, development, tutorials etc in their organizations.)

To measure our progress towards these impact goals, we will collect data on various indicators, including the number of individuals and communities served, participant feedback on cultural relevance and educational effectiveness, changes in digital literacy and technical skills, and the extent of Indigenous representation and engagement in tech-related initiatives. Additionally, we will conduct qualitative assessments to gather insights into the broader social and cultural impacts of our work within Indigenous communities.

At Poptronic, our core technology is virtual reality (VR), which powers our solution to address challenges facing Indigenous learners and communities. VR technology immerses users in virtual environments, allowing them to engage with educational content, cultural experiences, and training programs in an immersive and interactive way.

We utilize VR hardware, such as the Meta Quest 2 and 3, along with software applications and content development tools to create culturally relevant and impactful VR experiences. These experiences range from educational simulations and language preservation initiatives to cultural heritage preservation and storytelling projects.

Our VR technology is complemented by a range of supporting technologies, including content creation software, 3D modeling tools, and data analytics platforms, to ensure that our solutions are effective, engaging, and tailored to the specific needs of Indigenous communities.

By harnessing the power of VR and other modern technologies, we aim to empower Indigenous learners, increase access to educational opportunities, and promote cultural preservation and appreciation. We also recognize the importance of incorporating traditional knowledge systems and technologies into our solutions, fostering a holistic approach to addressing the challenges facing Indigenous communities. We view VR experiences as a modern take on our traditional storytelling, which is a fundamental aspect of Indigenous culture. Through VR, we honor the rich storytelling traditions of Indigenous communities while harnessing the potential of modern technology to create immersive and impactful educational experiences.

Akwesasne, Ontario.

Our storefront will remain in Akwesasne, Ontario however we are equipped to deliver our hardware across Canada.

Both co-founders are full-time and we have one part-time/floater position. We are hoping to receive a grant this summer to take on a summer intern full-time to assist in marketing, sales and customer service.

We started Poptronic in November 2021.

At Poptronic, diversity is integral to our ethos. With female co-founders in tech, we actively seek to empower underrepresented groups. We're recruiting a summer intern from our community to foster STEM interest. It has always been personal to us to amplify Indigenous and female voices in tech to create an inclusive workspace. We are community driven and want to help strengthen our voice and be a support system for our team and community as well.

Poptronic's business model encompasses various offerings to cater to the diverse needs of Indigenous communities. We provide in-studio VR sessions at an hourly rate, allowing users to immerse themselves in customized experiences. Additionally, we offer discounted rates for non-profit organizations, ensuring accessibility to our services. For added convenience, we deliver our headsets directly to organizations and provide in-person tutorials at a daily rate, facilitating seamless integration of VR technology into educational initiatives. Furthermore, we ship pre-loaded devices with applications tailored to meet users' specific needs, enhancing the accessibility and usability of our products. Alongside these services, we host training and workshops in our space and provide on-location services, ensuring flexibility and accessibility for our clients.

We offer flexible pricing options to accommodate the needs of both individuals and organizations. Our services are available at hourly, daily, weekend, week, and month rates, ensuring affordability and convenience for all clients. Whether you're looking for short-term immersive experiences or long-term educational initiatives, we provide tailored solutions to meet our clients specific requirements.

Our plan for financial sustainability revolves around a multi-faceted approach. Currently, we generate revenue through the rental of our VR products and services, including hourly VR sessions, in-person tutorials, and tailored VR experiences. As we continue to expand our customer base and acquire more headsets, we anticipate an increase in revenue from larger contracts with organizations and more extensive deployments to users.

We have already seen evidence of our plan's success through a consistent increase in sales, web searches, reach, and impressions on a monthly basis. Furthermore, customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with more organizations expressing interest in our services and reaching out to collaborate. As we scale our operations and refine our offerings, we are confident that our revenue streams will cover our expected expenses, ensuring long-term financial sustainability.