DohaThursday, April 21, 2005

The first prototype of a robot camel jockey was successfully tested on Tuesday, Qatar's Robot Jockey Committee announced.

The remote-controlled machine - the first ever used in a race - was put through a 2.5km trial run at Shahaniya racetrack.

Camel Jockeys
"The use of the robot jockey in place of a human jockey has proved to be successful. We are thus in a position to offset the criticism by world bodies on our employing children as jockeys," head of the Robot Jockey committee (RJC), Shaikh Abdullah Bin Saud Al Thani, said.

The Swiss developer of the project is Alexandre Colot. His machine has to go through a series of trials before being finally employed in the next racing season.

Qatar Industrial Development Bank (QIDB) has fully financed the development of the 3-million Qatari riyal (Dh3.2 million) project under the directives of Prime Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani. Qatar has bought exclusive rights to use the technology, Shaikh Abdullah Bin Saud added.

"We have signed up with the Swiss developer to design and manufacture the first remote-controlled robot that can replace human jockeys and respond to a camel and its movements. The invention has a patent registered in the name of the State of Qatar," he said.

A robot camel jockey weighs between 15 and 20 kilos, the ideal weight of a jockey. Shaikh Abdullah Bin Saud said the RJC had not yet taken a decision over the sale of the machines and how much they would eventually cost.

"The machine is still under development and must be completed first," he said.

He said the RJC would offer training sessions from September on how to use the machine for all those concerned. Members of the Qatar Scientific Club, technicians from the armed forces and members of the Camel Race Organising Committee designed some of the basic components of the project, in collaboration with the Swiss developer.

Shaikh Abdullah Bin Saud also said the QIDB was planning to establish the first robot plant in the region to manufacture robot jockeys.

The next trial of the robot jockey will be on May 28, while a trial race featuring 20 robot jockeys is scheduled at the beginning of the next season. Meanwhile, workshops are being set up to service and maintain the machines.

The decision to use remote controlled robot jockeys in camel races follows a ban on child jockeys imposed by the Qatari Cabinet last December. The new law provides that jockeys must be aged over 15 and weigh a minimum of 40kg.

The move was prompted by the harsh criticism of humanitarian organisations - who have repeatedly accused Gulf countries of turning a blind eye to the kidnapping and trafficking of minors from poor countries to work as camel jockeys here.

A member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Ghalia Bint Mohammad Bin Hamad Al Thani, said heavy penalties would be enforced on violators.

She said the law also contained measures to protect young jockeys by imposing specific safety measures. The child rights activist said about 40 children were engaged as jockeys in Qatar, most of them from Sudan and Somalia.

The Qatari Education Ministry has offered them free schooling, as an alternative to returning them to their poor home countries, if it is in their interest.

Gulf News