She is adorable. She doesn’t need to be fed. She never misbehaves. She is more articulate than the average six year old.
“Faith” is talking to people about responsible animal care and livestock production as the newest staff member of the Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan Inc.
However, if you’re picturing a polite young human spokesperson, you are wrong.
Faith is a sophisticated robot.
Adele Buettner, executive director of FACS, said Faith has been with the organization since December and has been attending events, fairs and shows to raise awareness about farm animal care.
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She is new to the trade show world and a unique way to reach out to kids, teachers and adults, Buettner said.
Although originally intended for children, Faith is a hit with people of all ages.
“She is a big attraction. Period.”
Sitting atop a shiny red tricycle, this “bike bot” hails from Texas and is the first such robot of her kind in Canada. Similar technologies have been popular in the United States as public relations tools for police, firefighters and ambulance services.
Due to the positive response Faith has had in Saskatchewan, FACS’s sister organization in Ontario has ordered two similar robots.
Faith is accompanied by two people wherever she goes and can manoeuvre through crowds and interact with people.
She is guided by one buddy who walks with her and helps her field questions, and a second handler who activates her voice from 10 metres away. The handler wears a headset enabling him or her to hear questions that are posed to Faith through her microphone. Then the handler’s response comes back through Faith’s mouth, which moves in sync with the handler’s voice.
Buettner makes it clear that Faith’s talks are not pre-recorded.
“Messages can be tailored to whatever event or commodity group that we might be representing at the time or involved with.”
Buettner said that Faith’s messages are at a basic level. However, her talks appeal to people of all ages and walks of life, because so many people are removed from farming and livestock production these days.
“She’s a very good bridge between the producers and the consumers.”
