Saudi Researchers Develop AI-Powered Drone System for Camel Herders
Trained on aerial footage of Saudi herds, the model identified migration patterns and will be scaled to larger, more diverse herds in the next phase.
Researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have developed a low-cost, AI-powered drone system that can identify and track camels from the air. The system was designed to assist camel herders in monitoring their herds over remote terrain and to help scientists gather data on camel migration patterns and behaviour.
The drone-based setup uses commercially available cameras mounted on inexpensive drones rather than traditional GPS collars or satellite links. According to the research team, older camels in the herd showed coordinated grazing patterns—moving long distances during the day but returning to their herder by sunset. The team also discovered that camels displayed considerable sensitivity to the drone’s sound, which led them to fly the drones at least 120 metres above the ground.
Camels have long played a vital cultural and economic role in Saudi Arabia—not only as beasts of burden but also within sectors such as food, textiles and tourism, contributing more than SAR 2 billion to the economy annually. Yet herding remains challenging: camels may roam up to 50 km per day across sparsely populated terrain, which can increase risks such as road accidents, over-grazing and livestock loss.
The research team’s next step is to collect video footage of larger and more diverse camel herds in order to further train their AI model.
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