COCHRANE— One of Cochrane and Area Victim Services' newest employees has kind eyes, a calming voice, a caring demeanour and stands at a mere two feet tall.
Buddy, the support robot, aims to help children in the community entwined in criminal matters through what can often be difficult and traumatic legal processes, said Tamara Low, client support coordinator with Cochrane and Area Victim Services.
"Buddy's main function will be to help children who have been victims of crime or tragedy," Low said. "The goal of using Buddy is to enhance our ability to empower child victims through police and the court process.
"He will provide a child-friendly therapeutic and educational platform to assist children through their legal journey."
This can include preparing a child for court if they are asked to testify in a case.
After several years of studying the model NAO humanoid robot, hospitals in Canada and the United States– Including the Alberta Children's Hospital, found that it can improve the healthcare experience and reduce trauma for young patients and their parents or caregivers.
Lauren Delahunt, Victim Services executive director, was inspired to acquire a robot for the organization after witnessing one at work while visiting the Red Deer detachment.
Her interaction with the Red Deer robot spearheaded an initiative to procure Buddy for Cochrane and area children through local sponsorships.
It takes a village to help raise a child, and a host of organizations lived up to this by chipping in for the $22,000 robot.
Buddy's sponsors include Tremar Computer Solutions, Bow RiversEdge Campground, Shell Canada, Aurora Cannabis and the Cochrane Foundation.
Even the name 'Buddy' was chosen by the community, who cast their vote through a poll launched by Victims Services when he arrived last summer.
It is a name that makes everybody feel good, Low said, and that's exactly what Buddy aims to do.
"When a criminal matter involving a child occurs, a child can come into the [RCMP] detachment and provide a statement," Low said. "But children often associate that experience of providing a statement to police with negative memories."
This is where Buddy comes in.
Sharing personal details and traumatic incidents with strangers can be stressful and re-traumatizing, but Buddy can reform the experience.
"Instead of leaving police interviews and concentrating on the heavy information they've had to revisit, the meeting will be able to provide some positive memories," Low said.
This is no ordinary robot— Like his human counterparts in the field, he has received extensive training to prepare for his critical new role.
Buddy, who likes to think of himself as a complex puppet, said only a couple of people know how to program him right now, but hopefully more people will have the know-how soon.
“My speech and movements are controlled by a person who enters codes into a tablet, you see, this way, I'm able to help each child individually and provide specific information for them,” Buddy said.
With the help of after-hours crisis support volunteer Glen Sine, Buddy has undergone countless hours of programming so that he is ready to respond to just about any situation a child may find themselves in within the court system.
Buddy can sing and dance better than most humans, practice breathing techniques and provide legitimate counsel, among other things.
He also functions as an educational tool in schools and as a community ambassador, going so far as to be able to conduct PowerPoint presentations.
Currently the robot is involved in the Positive Ticket Program, a Cochrane RCMP and Victims Services initiative to reward youth demonstrating good behaviour in the community.
"We're just catching kids being good citizens— Wearing helmets and doing the right thing," Low explained.
Recipients of a ticket can redeem it for a free ice cream at MacKay's, McDonald's or Dairy Queen, and they may even catch a glimpse of Buddy who made a guest appearance at each location last week.
With COVID-19 bringing many court proceedings to a halt, the support robot has not yet had the opportunity to meet one-on-one with a child to fulfil his main function, so Low hopes to get him working in the court system come Fall.
"September is a big goal for us," she said. "He's just been out in the community and with COVID we couldn't even get into schools last year."
In the meantime, if you see Buddy out and about be sure to give him a wave and say hi– He's likely to do the same!
