Recently our Think Tank was discussing robotic camels and how cool they are. It is amazing that robotics has come so far. The Japanese have a robot, which can run without falling over and now a Swiss Firm is making a Camel Riders, which can be used to race camels which is a big thing in the Middle East. Isn¡¯t that something?

One of our members Swift found after doing some research that the country of Qatar has enlisted the Swiss firm K-Team to create robotic camel jockeys. A human Camel Jockey like a Race Horse Jockey must be small and lightweight to give the Camel a competitive edge. But it is often hard to find skillful young people who can do this. There was some abuse as some of the racing groups have gone to South Asia and Africa to borrow children for use in this sport. It's angered some folks, so they have turned to 35 pound robotic child jockeys. This is just one way robots are helping the human race and preventing kidnapping and eventually they may have robotic camels, too.

This was getting to be a lively topic at our think tank as I always thought Robot Wars was a good way to stop cock fighting, that seems mean to animals. Kind of cruel thing and with bird flu coming the last thing you want is bleeding chickens all over the place. If all these birds are culled, maybe that sport might stop. Although you never know with robotics, some one might create robotic chickens to fight; maybe the size of Big Bird?

Of course in the Middle East with all the fighting going on, the last thing you would want is a robot on a camel. Swift said that could be used as a weapon to attack coalition troops or God forbid a Hotel or Bus full of innocent civilians in a murderous and senseless act.

I cannot imagine the problems with something like that; a camel bomb? Talk about cruelty to animals, that is disgusting; although in the Russians attempted to use dogs in wartime, but when they got close to their targets sometimes the gunfire would scare them and they would run back and blow up and kill their masters instead. Dolphins have been used in wartime, but just to plant the detonation device and swim safely away. Apparently the United States has more noble sentiments towards animals than other cultures?

Swift told the Think Tank, what if one of these raced into an Iraqi Complex or Hotel in the Middle East and take the place out--homicidal camels. No one would be suspicious if several hundred entered a city and just took the entire place out. They might just think it was a race they'd not heard about. Camels move in kind of a stiff manner, so that wouldn't be very difficult to replicate that kind of movement in a robotic version. People could be captured, then, or the jockey could yell "yahoo" and annihilate the place.

It appears to me that we may see more and more animals used in conjunction with robots. One recent researcher had figured out a way to put a surveillance camera on top of a turtle and if it went the wrong way the device vibrated and was unpleasant to the ¡°Desert Turtle¡± causing it to go the intended direction and then take full motion video feed or digital pictures it would send wirelessly. Could even be used to search for Earthquake victims.

Swift indicated that there is a fish called the stargazer that would also make an interesting robotic survellience system. Which could be used in place of a fully robotic AUV Autonomous Underwater Vehicle. The fish It lies in the bottom of water sources and looks a lot like a death mask. It explodes vertically out of its lair and grabs fish, but might also rest on the bottom of a river and guard it and then come up for pictures if someone tried to cross or in wartime take out the infiltrating enemy, as it would be safer than landmines, which lay there for years after a war until some poor civilian trips the device and blows off a limb. The device would have a positioning GPS and could be detonated after the war or picked up. The robot could do the same thing as the evolved organic fish, but come out of the water and react like a heat seeking missile taking out warm blooded people as it moved parallel to the surface of the river.

I suppose like a flying MAV Micro-Air Vehicle ¡°Pigeon¡± single mission bomb maybe used someday. Or maybe to fly in undetected as a fake robotic bird and take pictures. One problem with using robotic camels is they sound expensive to make and what about roadside bombs taking out your camel? Ah ha, A Trojan Camel indeed, maybe I read too much history, but it could work. The fish idea is totally interesting and could also be inflatable and blow up into a balloon and then go into the air for surveillance. I had designed a robotic manta ray like that or at least did some drawings and figured out the costs.

Swift said that there's also an eel called the snake ell that is found in the area of Indonesia. It burrows into the volcanic sands so that only it's head is sticking out of the water. Perhaps you might have seen it on the Science, Discovery or Animal Channel? This could be used to spy on China and Southeast Asia, because they have over 2000 industrial spies in our country already looking for military contractor secrets.

Since the eel is a predator, if someone saw one, they surely would not be approaching it, so it would be easy to keep it in an area without being disturbed. Both of these creatures are very primitive looking so would be easy to design. Both of these are found in the Lembeh Strait by Indonesia and live among the coral reefs there. There's also a mantis shrimp that have complex stalk eyes that offer an almost 360 degree view.

I thought this was an innovative idea and the eel idea is easy to build using polymer muscles and could be beneficial. The 360-vision is generally an attribute of a prey species, not a predator species. But if people were scared of it, it would keep them away, wouldn¡¯t it? Maybe it could shock anyone who got close too? Robotic Animals, fish and birds are fast approaching us and the wildlife generally ignore them, but are often curious; wondering what is this thing anyway? Think on these robotic topics.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/