Latest news with #JetsBot
CTV News
15-05-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Winnipeg company creates robotic Jets fan
The JetsBot waving a flag and towel at Eascan Automation on May 14, 2025. (Scott Andersson/CTV News) Staff members at a local business have combined their love of hockey and building robots into a futuristic way to cheer on the Winnipeg Jets. Eascan Automation has created the JetsBot – a robot that celebrates every time the team scores. 'Basically, it's just a robotic Jets fan,' said Roger Peters, mechanical designer at Eascan. 'So whenever the Jets score, he raises his hands, waves a flag, spins a towel. Everybody has a great time with it.' Peters noted the JetsBot gave the team at Eascan an opportunity to work on a project that wasn't specifically for a client but rather served as a way for them to all come together and celebrate. 'It's just an example of one thing that a robot can do, because they're completely programmable; really, [you can] program it to do whatever task you want them to do,' he said. Peters said the robot took about two days to build, adding that he hopes it will give the Jets a little bit more support as they head into Game 5 on Thursday.
Winnipeg Free Press
15-05-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
JetsBot brings local hockey cheer amid trade war strife
Humans aren't the only ones cheering on the Winnipeg Jets. JetsBot has the pro hockey team's flag in one arm and a whiteout towel in the other. And when the players score, JetsBot is ready — five flag waves on its right, six seconds of towel waving on its left. Eascan Automation staff programmed the robot to hoist its arms and celebrate the success of the local NHL team. GABRIELLE PICHE / FREE PRESS JetsBot in the Eascan Automation shop. 'Jets are local, we're a local company and sports is a very good way to bring it all together,' said Camila Bellon, Eascan Automation's chief executive. She was also looking for a way to cheer up staff. The firm laid off one-third of its employees earlier this year amid tariff uncertainty; the volume of business cancelled, postponed or paused accounted for upwards of 30 per cent of its annual revenue, Bellon said in March. A group at Eascan decided, with the NHL playoffs top of mind, a JetsBot could be a fun project. Roger Peters got to work. The company's mechanical designer spent two days connecting and programming two robots, fashioned in a way to form arms. The joint bot is fed data during hockey games and should raise its arms in real time when the Jets score a goal. Peters and Bellon aren't yet sure where JetsBot will reside. It has a wingspan roughly 2.5 metres wide and a height around two metres; tiny spaces aren't its forte. For now, it will stay at Eascan's Wall Street headquarters. It might make its way to a pub, Peters joked. (Eascan built a robot bartender, which poured and handed out beers at Torque Brewing, in 2019.) JetsBot has brought some happiness to staff, said Gary Kristiansen, Eascan Automation's sales manager. 'The Jets are a topic every morning,' he added. 'Like everybody else in the city, we have flags at home.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Meanwhile, work is slowly picking up, he and Bellon shared. Kristiansen said Eascan landed a large contract and is in the process of getting another. The company is rehiring one staff member full-time and is calling others back for part-time roles. Canadian firms seem to be scouting other Canadian businesses during their bidding processes, Kristiansen relayed. Bellon took over as chief executive in recent months. 'We don't want to bleed talent, because it's super hard to find qualified people,' she said. 'We have such a good set of skills at Eascan. It's never good to see those skills or those talents going.' Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
