The traditional sport of camel racing got a high-tech twist: robot camel riders.

At the biannual race in Jordan’s Wadi Rum Desert, 300 camels are jockeyed remotely. Owners drive alongside, delivering commands by a mounted speaker and enforcing them with a remote-controlled whip.

The sport used child jockeys in the past, but they were banned in 2002. The replacement robots weigh less than 10 pounds, keeping the camels’ load light and the pace fast.