For the first time in the Kingdom, a team at the Electrical Engineering Department develops a system for pilgrim tracking and identification using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in a mobile phone. NFC is capable of transferring information wirelessly and securely for 3-4 cm without any intervention or preparation by the users and this provides more security for the information. Information transfer is initiated merely by bringing the devices close to each other provided that they are programmed to do so. This makes the authentication and data communication easier without touching the devices. NFC transfer the data at 13.56MHz on 106-424 KB/sec. This technology has evolved from RFID. There are numerous applications for NFC like in PCs, mobile phones, cash machines in addition to using it with smart cards as they use the same technology. Moreover, banks are developing systems to use NFC for MasterCard and Visa cards for electronic payment.
This technology has two working modes: active communication where both devices generates radio fields to transfer the data, or passive communication where only one device generates radio waves and sends the data through it and the passive device or card uses this field to sends its information as well.
The developed system would make the mobile phone all what a pilgrim needs throughout his Holy trips. The mobile phone would be used as an official documents, Hajj permit, medical record, credit card or e-purse, in addition to phone numbers and the address of the pilgrim in all sites of the Holy areas (like in Makka, Mina, Arafat, Muzdalefa) and his country. Upon arrival of the pilgrim to the airport, his mobile is programmed and is loaded if it is not activated as a bank card. It is possible to program the mobile in the embassy of the Kingdom in the pilgrim home country.
If a pilgrim needs medical help, The medical staff brings his mobile close to the mobile of the patient to get a copy of his medical record. The doctor can add the patient’s new case to the medical record and sends it back to the patient mobile. It is also possible to program the system so that as soon as the mobile of the doctor is brought closer to the patient’s mobile the medical record is shown on the patient’s mobile so that the doctor cam add his comments directly to the mobile of the patient without transferring the data to the doctor’s mobile.
When a pilgrim arrives at a check point, the officer can verify his Hajj permit by bringing his mobile from the pilgrim’s mobile, so information is transferred or can be shown on the pilgrim’s mobile directly. If the pilgrim does not have a mobile, a tag on the form of a wristband or a business card can be programmed and given to the pilgrim instead of programming the mobile.
It is possible to the pilgrim to buy all his needs using his mobile or tags. Several banks worldwide are developing payment system using NFC so the mobile would be used as a bank card or credit card.
It is possible to use the developed system for grouping and moving the pilgrims in the train and other transportation means available in the Holy area. Moreover, it is possible to use the developed system by the group leader (Mutawif) so that better services are provided to his group. Finally, it is possible to distribute information centers around the Holy area that consists of NFC device, so that once a pilgrim brings his mobile close to any of these well identified points, a video clip is downloaded to his mobile that guides the pilgrim to the rituals that the pilgrim should perform or the prayers that he should say at these areas.
As for the pilgrim tracking, the team implemented several pilots using different technologies like active RFID and wireless sensor network. It was observed that these systems requires expensive infrastructure to be installed in the Holy area to be used for few days in a year only. Moreover, once a pilgrim leaves the covered area it is no longer possible to track him. Therefore, the team members developed a tracking system using GPS in the mobile phone. The mobile phone is programmed so that it automatically obtains the location information and sends it periodically to a server through the Internet or SMS. It was observed that the cost of sending the location information every few minutes does not exceed few Halalas in a day. If the Internet connection is disconnected, the mobile stores the location information in its memory until the connection is restored. When the connection is restored all the location information is sent and cleared from memory. It is important to note that the developed system works on the back end without affecting the other normal services provided by the mobile phone.
The server receives a user identification number, location information, and a time frame. This information is mapped on a Google map or any other geographical information system so that each pilgrim can be tracked. It is possible also to track a group of pilgrims or all pilgrims for crowd control as shown in the map below. A press on any icon on the map displays the UID of the pilgrims, the latitude, longitude and time frame when the pilgrim was at that particular point.
It is also possible to program the mobile to send pilgrim location information to the group leader as well so he can provide better services to his group. Additionally, it is possible for the group leader to download all locations that the pilgrim will visit on his mobile so that if the pilgrim gets lost he can get guidance from the GPS services of the mobile to go back to his group easily. It is possible also to program the mobile so that in case a pilgrim needs medical attention, the mobile can send the request with the location information that can be displayed on a map so that medical assistance can arrive efficiently to the requesting pilgrim.
All manufacturing companies produce NFC enabled mobile phones. It is expected that in 2014 30% of all mobiles will be NFC enabled. | 