It seems that the UAE has had enough of the worldwide criticism of the use of young children to ride camels during the long and often hazardous races. Let’s just say that they’re treated pretty badly.
To solve this problem the BBC reports that they are now going to use robot jockeys:
“The mechanical jockey is light in weight and receives orders from the instructor via a remote control system fixed on the back of the camel,” the daily Gulf News said, quoting an official statement.”
I wonder if this is actually going to work. It certainly is an ingenious solution to the problem. More and more it’s shown that humans aren’t needed in sports anymore (at least horse & camel racing anyway).
Kudos to sexy jihad for taking this important story.
We thought it marked a turning point as well: http://samernesto.blogspot.com/2005/04/uae-declares-robots-not-kids-for.html
however, it appears the blogosphere doesn’t follow robotics, camel racing, kidnapping, child labor laws, or the intersection of all four.
Anyway,
Adios,
SE