Laney meets a robot
February 07, 2019
“Is that the robot?”, were the first words out of Laney’s mouth when she walked into the Red Deer RMCP detachment recently. She was bursting with excitement as she ran over to meet the robot for the first time.
“Is that the robot?”, were the first words out of Laney’s mouth when she walked into the Red Deer RMCP detachment recently. She was bursting with excitement as she ran over to meet the robot for the first time.
Laney, age 6, was the winner of a contest to name the robot – the newest member of the Red Deer Victim Services team – and was at the detachment for the official name unveiling.
Much thought went into the name Laney submitted – Ard-E. According to Laney, it’s meant to sound like the letters R and D for Red Deer, but she also wanted it to be more “robot-like”, so she also drew inspiration from her favourite robot, Wall-E.
Ard-E was selected as the winning name from among more than 200 submissions from children and youth ages 5-14. The top three names, Ard-E, Astro and Charlie were voted on by the public, with Ard-E ultimately winning.
Meeting the robot was just the start for Laney. With media cameras rolling, she introduced Ard-E, and later gave interviews, handling it all like a pro. She also got to spend some time dancing and playing games with Ard-E. Later, as part of her prize, she’ll come back to the detachment and be made “Police Chief for the Day”.
Purchased by Red Deer Victim Services through donations, Ard-E’s job is make children feel more comfortable as they work through police and court processes. Sometimes these experiences can be overwhelming for children, but Ard-E walks them through every step of the process – everything from giving a statement to what to expect at court. Ard-E can talk, sing, dance and play games, all while helping to support children through what is usually a difficult and stressful time. To learn more about the services provided by Victim Services, visit: http://www.reddeervsu.ca/