CNN.com - Qatar�to replace camel riders with robots - Apr 20, 2005

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- With the reins in one hand and a whip in the other, the purple-jerseyed rider prodded a camel around the track.

But this jockey wasn't the usual underfed boy. The jockey was a robot.

Under the watchful eyes of his Swiss developer and Qatari owners, the robot -- dubbed Kamel -- rode a racing camel for 1.5 miles, reaching speeds of 25 miles per hour in a non-competitive trial run.

By 2007, rulers of this energy-rich emirate say all camel racers will be mechanical.

The developer, Alexandre Colot of the Swiss robotics firm K-Team, wasn't as impressed as the rest of the crowd.

"I wasn't surprised," Colot said, as he walked toward the camel to unstrap Kamel and put him in a box for the night. "I've seen him do that before, so to me, it's not something strange."

Thats becuase you probably spent the last eight years of your life creating a robot to ride a camel. Why not do somthing usefull and make it kill. At least that way you will have something to defend your self against when America comes after the rest of the oil.

[ Next Thing you'll know is they are racing cars ]

[Note: I know about the F1 in Bahrain, It was a dude joke...]