Why Was The Lottery Prize Presented by a Human-sized Robot?

Published July 27th, 2020 - 10:01 GMT
No human hands had touched the check for the 72 hours before the robot handed it over to Desjardins. (Instagram/ lotoquebec_officiel)
No human hands had touched the check for the 72 hours before the robot handed it over to Desjardins. (Instagram/ lotoquebec_officiel)
Highlights
Lottery officials said during the ceremony, which was broadcast on Facebook Live, that no human hands had touched the check for the 72 hours before the robot handed it over to Desjardins.

The first in-person check presented to a lottery winner in Quebec since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic was presented by an official immune to the disease -- a human-sized robot.

Loto-Quebec said it employed the use of a robot designed by a student club at the Montreal-based Ecole de Technologie Superieure, in partnership with Centech, to present Guylaine Desjardins with her check for $4.47 million.

Lottery officials said during the ceremony, which was broadcast on Facebook Live, that no human hands had touched the check for the 72 hours before the robot handed it over to Desjardins.


Desjardins won her jackpot from the July 1 Lotto 6/49 drawing, but she said it took a while for her to discover her win because she only checks her tickets after every four drawings.

She said her plans for her winnings include buying a three-wheeled motorcycle and celebrating with her two sons.

"We want to just invest it for now given that we aren't able to travel right now," Desjardins said. "So we'll invest it for a while before we decide what to do with it. We'll take our time."

This article has been adapted from its original source.

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