Saudi officials use AI, drones and thousands of cameras to keep pilgrims safe

The system is tailored to spot unusual crowd movements and predict pedestrian bottlenecks. [File]
| Photo Credit: AP

Day and night in front of maps, screens and seemingly endless data, Saudi officials used artificial intelligence to manage a million seas of pilgrims during the Hajj.

The technology proves crucial for tracking overwhelming amounts of footage from over 15,000 cameras in and around Mecca's sacred city.

The system is tailored to spot unusual crowd movements and predict pedestrian bottlenecks. That is, potential life savings in packed events with a history of deadly stamps.

The software is also used to guide over 20,000 buses deployed to transport pilgrims between sacred sites at one of the world's largest annual religious gatherings.

It is a portion of all high-tech weapons that Saudi Arabia is deploying, with 1.4 million loyal Saudi Arabia descending into and around Mecca.

“The traffic control room uses AI layers with AI layers to analyze movement, analyze busy areas and predict behavior,” said Mohamed Nazier, chief executive of the Royal Commission of Mecca's General Transport Centre.

The centre has a main control room in Mecca filled with screens and maps, and staff use high-tech tools, including AI, for 24-hour monitoring.

In front of the desktop computer, about 12 staff members sit in a line with a large display in front of them, zooming in on the movement of the crowd around the sacred ground.

The camera on the nearby hillside resembles a small white robotic building, roads and paths along the Hadge route, which winds more than 20 kilometers (12 miles) between Mecca and Mount Arafat.

Nazier said constant surveillance is aimed at avoiding pedestrian traffic collisions on busy routes, while also ensuring that there are buses available to minimize walking time in the desert heat.

It has been ten years since Hajj suffered from the worst disaster. This is a stampede that killed up to 2,300 people during the “Devil's Stone” ritual.

Hundreds of people died in Stampede in 2006, 1998 and 1994.

In 1990, 1,426 pilgrims were killed or suffocated when the tunnel ventilation system failed.

In cutting-edge technology, “the control room is looking to the ground,” said Mohammed Al-Karni, who oversees the Hajj at the transportation centre and year-round pilgrimage to Umrah.

Artificial intelligence “helps determine the flow of (roads to the sacred sites) and detects emergencies even before they occur,” he told AFP, adding that the technology can help assess the number of people in a single location.

Cameras and AI can estimate whether the site has reached its maximum capacity, allowing authorities to divert the flow of pilgrims, Karni said.

During this year's Holy Month of Ramadan, the system was discovered when the Grand Mosque reached its full capacity.

“The flow to Haram (the Grand Mosque) was stopped and the process was controlled,” he said.

The use of advanced technology has expanded beyond logistics, and it also tracks unregistered pilgrims who accounted for most of the 1,301 deaths in swelling situations last year.

Last year, temperatures spiked to 51.8 degrees Celsius (125.2 Fahrenheit) led to the brunt of unauthorized worshipers who had no access to air-conditioned tents or buses. Temperatures are forecast to be in the top 40C this week.

One of the five pillars of Islam, the Hajj must be completed by all Muslims at least once.

However, not everyone can secure or afford one of the official permits. Official permissions are assigned to the country by quota and awarded to individuals by lottery.

This year, a fleet of camera-equipped drones are monitoring the entrance to Mecca.

“We use artificial intelligence and other tools such as drones and thermal imaging cameras,” Public Safety Director General Mohamed bin bin Abdullah al-Bassami told reporters.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabian Special Forces for Road Security said it is using “smart thermal imaging” to monitor the boundary between Mecca and the Holy Land.