IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2015 - 74

everal million people from around the
world visit Saudi Arabia each year to
perform Hajj (pilgrimage). One of the
largest socio-religious gatherings in the
world, the Hajj poses unique challenges
in terms of safety, security, crowd control, medical emergencies, transportation, and a variety of other logistical considerations. To
add further complexity, these visitors come from a myriad
of countries around the globe, representing a variety of
diverse cultures and speaking more than 120 distinct
languages. Moreover, the majority of these pilgrims are of
older age, and prone to falling ill and losing money and
identification documents. Several die naturally during
these few days of pilgrimage every year. Billions of dollars
are being spent to improve safety, security, and infrastructure, as well as to provide better services in hopes of making the event a memorable one for pilgrims. However, several challenges remain, many of which can be overcome
by implementing the latest technologies to make this
Holy trip easier on pilgrims and authorities alike. In this
article, the benefits of employing the novel technology of
Near Field Communication (NFC) to manage large socioreligious events such as Hajj are described. NFC-enabled
mobile devices can expedite identity screening and store
medical records of pilgrims for timely aid in the event of
an emergency, be used as a transportation pass between
Holy sites, and function as official documents for pilgrims
so these won't get lost. Several of these services can be
provided even if a pilgrim does not have an NFC-enabled
mobile phone by providing pre-programmed NFC tags at
the point of arrival.

Challenges of Hajj
More than 2.5 million visitors perform Hajj (pilgrimage) on five specific days each year within designated
boundaries around Makkah City in Saudi Arabia. An
additional 6 million people visit the Holy sites throughout the year outside the Hajj period. This number is
expected to reach 10 million in the near future. In
an effort to better manage the growing number of
pilgrims while also addressing spatial limitations, the
Ministry of Hajj issues a limited number of permits for
pilgrims every year (a Hajj card for locals and a visa
for international pilgrims). Unauthorized pilgrims overcrowd the city and burden the already strained medical, logistical, transportation, and other services. In
order to prevent such visitors from entering the area,
there are several checkpoints on roads to the city during the Hajj period.
The pilgrimage is uniquely characterized by the pilgrims
in attendance, the places in which they meet, and the
types of rituals that they perform. As a result, local authorities are faced with a variety of challenges, particularly in

crowd control and personal identification. Further complicating matters is the uniformity of the crowd movement -
all of the pilgrims in attendance travel the same routes at
the same times, making it difficult to distinguish and identify specific individuals. Moreover, a large percentage of pilgrims are senior citizens - many save money throughout
their entire life for the sole purpose of performing this Holy
trip. The Hajj authorities try their utmost to offer the best
services to the pilgrims; nonetheless, coping with a high
volume of visitors proves extremely difficult, and is further
complicated by the wide diversity in cultures and language
demonstrated by the visitors.
Technological solutions can help mitigate several of
the challenges faced during this event, vastly improving the quality of services.The utilization of Near Field
Communication enabled mobile phones will provide
instant, on-the-go access to the following services anywhere in the Hajj designated area:
■ Identification of pilgrims (lost, dead, or injured).
■ Medical emergencies.
■ Guidance of lost pilgrims to their camps.
■ Provision of information to pilgrims as to how to perform each ritual at each site (smart hotspots).

Mobile Phone as a Tool
Mobile phones increasingly are being used to access
information and services via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections. Recently, phones with NFC capability are
becoming more popular for services such as access
control, e-ticketing, e-purse, medical services, and
many other applications [1]-[5]. This article describes a
proof of concept application that leverages the immense
potential of NFC-enabled mobile phones for offering services to pilgrims during Hajj.
In the past, we experimented with RFID tags and
smartcards for providing services to pilgrims [6].
However, there are distinct advantages of mobile
phones over RFID tags and smartcard-based systems.
First, mobile phones (smart and not-so-smart) are
being used for many applications besides sending
and receiving calls - it is easy to add new services
and applications (apps) to a mobile phone by simply
downloading the applications, allowing for immediate use. On the other hand, it has been noted that
pilgrims often experience difficulty in the handling
and managing of cards or wristbands, which are
easily damaged, lost, or mixed with the wristbands
of other pilgrims. Cards were not superior in this
regard, whether hung around the neck, used as a
business card, or carried with the pilgrim. Conversely,
it has been observed that most pilgrims carry mobile
phones and rarely lose them, due to the frequent use
of mobile phones to maintain ongoing contact with
family members as well as their Mutawif. The Saudi

IEEE TEchnology and SocIETy MagazInE

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MARCH 2015

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