Qatar to Use Robots As Camel Riders

[underpants]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/qatar_robot_jockeys

DOHA, Qatar - With the reins in one hand and a whip in the other, the purple-jerseyed rider prodded a camel around the track. But this jockey wasn't the usual underfed boy. The jockey was a robot.







Under the watchful eyes of his Swiss developer and Qatari owners, the robot — dubbed Kamel — rode a racing camel for 1.5 miles, reaching speeds of 25 miles per hour in a non-competitive trial run.


By 2007, rulers of this energy-rich emirate say all camel racers will be mechanical.

Spurring the robots' development has been vehement condemnation from human rights groups of the sport's regular jockeys. Activists say there are about 40,000 boy jockeys, some as young as 4, who are either bought from their parents or kidnapped from their home countries and taken to the Gulf to ride. The boys live in bleak conditions and are underfed before races to keep their weight down.






A camel handler follows the rider in a vehicle and uses a joystick on the laptop-sized remote to issue four instructions: forward, backward, sideways and whip action. The robot, in turn, uses those commands to drive the camel.