Robot camel jockeys - 18th November 2022

Robots are now an important part of an ancient sport in the Middle East, camel racing. Bedouin tribes have played this sport for many years. This tradition has continued but there's been a big change.

Jockeys, who ride the camels, needed to be as small and light as possible. This was to make the camels run faster. Sometimes, four year old children were used as jockeys. Many of them were not given food, so that they would remain small. Child protection groups were against this child abuse.

In 2002, the UAE made it illegal to use children under 15 as jockeys.

Qatar began developing robot riders in 2001. But there were some difficulties. Camels were afraid of the robots. So, they designed new robots that looked more human with clothes and sunglasses.

But more problems appeared with the new designs. They weighed between 16 and 18 kilos and desert sand and heat were bad for them. Engineers improved these. The new ones are cheaper and lighter, weighing two to three kilos. They also include voice control systems.

Now, camel racers control the robot jockeys by shouting at them.

Camel racing looks different today, but the desire to win is still the same.

Ali Zawayed: "I have several camels participating today, and I came first in the 8th stage of the race. The challenge was strong, but thank God, I made it and my camel got first place."