Technology wins over humans- Robot Camel Jockeys

There's more to this story than saying that robots have replaced the child labor used as camel riding jockeys in the Arabian Desert. It's a fascinating story of tradition versus modernity, and technology coming to rescue the servitude by the rich and powerful of the Arab Peninsula- Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Emirates where camel racing is a popular sport for thousands of years.

The lighter the jockey, the faster the camel runs and this is where the problem starts. In order to get the beast to run at speeds reaching 25 miles per hour in 112-degree desert heat, underweight children are used. Human rights activists have taken strong objection to this and under pressure from the west, Qatar has agreed to free the children and when ready, robots will replace children to perform the same task. It's a win-win for all.

Understandably, these victories didn't without glitches. The Swiss Company that designed the robots had to make sure that robots did not look 'human' as Islam forbids representation of the human form and Qatar's bigger and more conservative neighbour Saudi Arabia is watching how these events are unfolding. The first prototype had a white ghost- like face and when mounted on the camel, it was so scared it turned around and ran the wrong way. More child like features and skin color were given to the dummy robot in order to fool the camel. It seems to be working. Each robot costs $10,000 and this opens up the potential for huge business to the Swiss Company. The rich and powerful Arabs are happy, the camel races will continue. The noise against child labor will cool off. But there is an irony to this seemingly happy end; the children who are freed and sent back to their countries mostly to Sudan are worse off because they are likey to end up in the streets for further exploitation by others.