On its first run round a Qatari camel-racing course, the robot jockey has set a time seconds off the record set by a child jockey, whose use in the popular sport has been banned after international criticism.
"We're 20 seconds away from the best time using a human jockey over 5km," said Alexander Colot, director of the Swiss firm K-team, which has built the robot jockey for Qatar.
The robot challenged its only competitor, a child jockey, over the 5km course on the Al-Shahaniya race track near Doha, while spectators and media watched, drawn to this unique event.
PHOTOS: AFP
Gulf Arab monarchies are trying to bring order to the sport in the face of protests over the trafficking of young children from developing countries, mostly in Asia, who become jockeys.
Human-rights groups raised alarm over the exploitation of children by traffickers who pay impoverished parents a paltry sum or simply kidnap their victims.
The children, mostly from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, are then smuggled into the oil-rich Gulf states.
They are often starved by employers to keep them light and maximize their racing potential. Mounting camels three times their height, the children -- some as young as six -- face the risk of being thrown off and trampled.
Earlier this month, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) successfully completed its first robot-jockey exercise, with a ban on the use of jockeys aged under 16 and weighing less than 45kg also now in effect.
The UAE had in principle already banned the use of children under 15 since 1993, but abuses remain widespread and no one was ever prosecuted.
PHOTOS: AFP
In December, Qatar banned the use of children in camel races and said it was preparing to use robot jockeys from 2005.
Mounted on a racing camel, which has an average speed of 40kph, the remote-controlled robot jockey displays remarkably similar gestures to those of a human jockey, even whipping the camel to make it go faster.
After "about 30 attempts" since launching the idea in April 2004, "the product is now ready," said Colot.
Property rights for the robot have been registered for Qatar.
"No one can manufacture [a robot] without the authorization of Qatar," said Rashed Ali Ibrahim, a member of the Qatari committee charged with promoting robot jockeys.
According to Colot, "the Emirati model (resembles) a doll rather than a robot."
Doha is increasingly set on developing its own robot jockey, "notably with a movement of arms and battery-powered," said committee president Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani, who announced a plan to create "a factory for robot jockeys" in the gas-rich Gulf state.
"We hope to introduce around 20 robot jockeys" next year at Qatar's annual grand prix, he said.
While the Swiss manufacturer refuses to reveal the cost of the project, Sheikh Abdullah said, "the first phase involved investments of some 3 million riyals (US$800,000)."
"This experiment can succeed and be generalized," said Fredj Fenniche, regional representative for the UN Human Rights Commission.
"Our way seeks to make Qatar a state of law and respect of human rights, and we won't tolerate going against this," said Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Faisal al-Thani, president of the organizing committee for camel races in Qatar.
The arithmetic is straightforward and uncomfortable. By the end of 2025, Taiwan had committed itself to a 50-30-20 electricity mix — half natural gas, 30 per cent coal, 20 per cent renewables. The Ministry of Economic Affairs’s (MOEA) own monthly energy reports tell a different story. Natural gas reached 47.8 per cent of generation last year. Coal stood at 35.4 per cent, comfortably above its target ceiling. Renewables came in at 13.1 per cent, well short of the 20 per cent Taipei had pledged a decade earlier. Installed renewable capacity reached roughly half of the 12 gigawatts (GW) the government
There are shadowy cabals plotting to sell out Taiwan to be annexed by China, by invasion if necessary. Fortunately, they are buffoons. In 2019, former Bamboo Union gangster and founder of the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP), Chang An-le (張安樂, colorfully known as “White Wolf”), led a protest at the Legislative Yuan against comments made by then-premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) that in the event of an attack by China, he would never surrender, but would protect the nation by fighting to the end, even if he only had a broom. Chang had party members bring a wooden casket that they
Taiwan’s drone exports are taking off, fuelled by the war in Ukraine, as Taiwanese companies seek a stake in the fast-growing global market for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Low-cost drones used for reconnaissance and strikes are in high demand as governments around the world boost defense spending in the face of intensifying conflicts. A relative new player in the increasingly competitive industry, Taiwan’s pitch is to be an “Asian hub” for the production of UAVs and components free of Chinese materials, or “non-red.” That means its UAVs can be up to three times more expensive than their Chinese competitors, like the world’s biggest
June 1 to June 7 "If all Taiwanese were as afraid of dying as you, then what would happen?” Physician Shih Chiang-nan (施江南) reportedly said this to his wife Chen Chiao-tung (陳焦桐) after she urged him to stop intervening on behalf of Taiwanese soldiers stranded overseas after serving in the Japanese Army during World War II. Shih had clashed with high-ranking officials over the issue, engaged in several heated arguments with Taiwan governor-general Chen Yi (陳儀) and allegedly shouted at general Ko Yuan-fen (柯遠芬), chief of staff of the Taiwan Garrison Command, over
RSS