Application Case 1.9

Robots Took the Job of Camel-Racing Jockeys for Societal Benefits

In several Middle Eastern countries, notably Jordan, Abu Dhabi, and other Gulf nations, racing camels has been a popular activity for generations. The owners of the winning camels can make a huge bonus (up to $1,000,000 for first place). Also, the events are considered cultural and social.

The Problem

For a long time, the racing camels were guided by human jockeys. The lighter the weight of the rider, the better is the chance to win. So the owners of the camels trained children (as young as seven) to be jockeys. Young male children were bought (or kidnapped) from poor families in Sudan, India, Bangladesh, and other poor countries and were trained as child jockeys. In fact, this practice was using child slave labor to race the camels. This practice was used for generations until it was banned in all Middle Eastern countries during 2005–2010. A major factor that resulted in the banning was the utilization of robots.

The Robots’ Solution

Racing camels was a tradition for many generations and become a lucrative sport. So, no one wanted to discontinue it. According to Opfer (2016), there was a humanistic reason for using robots to race camels—to save the children. Today, all camel race tracks in the Middle East employ only robots. The robots are tied to the hump of the camels, looking like small jockeys and are remote controlled from cars that drive parallel to the racing camels. The owners can command the camels by voice, and they can also operate a mechanical whip to beat the animals so they will run faster, much like human jockeys do. Note that camels would not run unless they hear the voice of a human or see something that looks like a human on their humps.

The Technology

There is a video camera that shows the people that are in cars driving alongside of the camels, what is going on in real time. The owner can provide voice commands to the camel from the car. A mechanical whip attached to the hump of the camel can be remotely operated to induce the animal.

The Results

The results are astonishing. Not only was the child slavery practice eliminated, but also the speed obtained by the camels increased. After all, the robots used weigh only 6 pounds and do not get tired. To see how this works watch the video at Camel racing with robotic jockeys in Dubai (2:47 min). To view a complete race, see Dubai Camel Race Ride-along (9:08 min). You may have a chance to see the royal family when you go to the track. Finally, you can see more details in United Arab Emirates: Camel Race(8:08 min).

Discussion Questions

1. It is said that the robots eradicated the child slavery. Explain.
2. Why do the owners need to drive by their camels while they are racing?
3. Why not duplicate the technology for horse racing?
4. Summarize ethical aspects of this case (Read Boddington, 2017). Do this exercise after you have read about ethics in Chapter 14.