UAE- New system to improve camel racing

4/17/2016 5:10:26 AM

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) A Master's student from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology has capitalised on the latest technological advances in computer science and signal processing to innovate one of the UAE's oldest and cherished pastimes - camel racing.

Recognising the novelty and potential commercial applications of the student-led innovation Masdar Institute has filed a provisional patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the innovative camel monitoring system being developed by Saeed Alnofeli an MSc student in the Engineering Systems and Management Programme.

The invention is based on Alnofeli's thesis research titled "Customer Driven Product Development Process for Camel Monitoring System" which is focused on optimising monitoring systems of a training platform that can be used to improve camel training and racing.

Camel racing is part of the UAE's rich heritage. As a centuries-old cultural tradition across the Arabian Peninsula the UAE formalised the sport immediately after the country was founded.

Despite its popularity and cultural significance Alnofeli believes that some aspects of the sport are a bit antiquated. "I found some challenges in the camel racing industry including a poor understanding of the camel's health and how to improve camels' racing performance which is what motivated my research" Alnofeli said.

Robot jockeys which were introduced in 2004 were the first technological advance in the sport and the first step towards improving communication between camels and their trainers.

Alnofeli's camel monitoring system further improves and secures the communication between trainer and camel by providing the trainer with information on the camel's heart rate while it races - information that through Alnofeli's proposed training system can be used to both safeguard the camel's health and optimise the camel's racing performance.

In the current prototype of the monitoring system an off-the-shelf sensor is wrapped around the camel's body to collect data on the camel's heart rate and speed. Through sophisticated signal processing software the data is transmitted to a computer operated by the trainer.

Alnofeli is working to develop camel-specific sensors which will be able to track other valuable information in addition to the camel's heart rate. He also plans to introduce tracking and recording capabilities into the software.

Alnofeli has been championing his camel monitoring system with much success over the past two years. Awarded the BP Innovation Scholarship in 2014 (a two-year fully-funded merit scholarship awarded to graduate students in any one of Masdar Institute's nine engineering concentrations) Alnofeli went on to win the first Khalifa Fund Technopreneur Competition held in May 2014 and the Ibtikari 2.0 competition held the same year.

"I see the camel monitoring system as a business opportunity and I am eager to build a start-up with it" he said. The Khalifa Fund and the Department of Economic Development Abu Dhabi have provided Alnofeli with financial support.

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