Saudi Arabia provides ‘Smart Hajj’ for pilgrims
Saudi Arabia caters for the information and communications technology (ICT) needs of 2.5 million pilgrims by providing critical ICT infrastructure to support reliable services and access to data-heavy mobile applications. Additionally, ICT-enabled innovations including 5G, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality were deployed to manage the crowds by analysing photos and videos, parcel transport services, and to facilitate communication between government sectors. ‘This year, the Ministry launched the second version of the initiative entitled “Smart Hajj”. The initiative aims to provide innovative services to pilgrims through different digital platforms and applications, and includes a list of the key interactive applications that help accurately introduce pilgrims to the rituals of Hajj pilgrimage and take advantage of technology in learning about steps for moving between the Holy Places’, noted the Minister of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), Abdullah Al-Sawahah.
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