Large-scale events, such as the Hajj, constitute complex logistical events that attract approximately two to three million pilgrims annually to Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The immense scale of these gatherings presents significant challenges related to crowd management, infrastructure, public safety, and connectivity which can adversely impact both the pilgrimage experience and their well-being.
Challenges of the Hajj and Limitations of Current Solutions
The Hajj presents significant challenges in mobility, security, and connectivity, impacting the pilgrimage experience and requiring improved solutions. Mobility issues stem from poor traffic management, congestion, and inadequate accident response, leading to delays, financial losses, and a negative experience for pilgrims. Security and surveillance concerns include unauthorized pilgrims, overcrowding, and stampedes. Connectivity challenges arise due to network congestion, inadequate coverage, and infrastructure limitations, affecting both pilgrims and emergency responders. Weak signals have led to navigation failures, putting vulnerable pilgrims at risk. This is especially critical during disasters, when terrestrial communication infrastructure becomes inoperable.2 While current solutions, such as ground-based cameras, security agents, and terrestrial communication infrastructures, provide some relief, they remain limited in coverage, costly, and time-consuming to implement, necessitating more efficient and scalable alternatives.7
Advantages of Using Aerial Solutions
To address the aforementioned limitations, we propose aerial solutions1,3 such as networked tethered flying platforms (NTFPs),4 which are well-suited for events such as the Hajj. NTFPs are aerial platforms tethered to the ground, receiving continuous data and power via the tether. Their high-altitude operation provides superior monitoring coverage compared to ground-based cameras, making them well-suited for surveillance and long-range detection. They also provide clear visibility of crowd gatherings and robust, line-of-sight (LoS) access links. Moreover, the tethered connection offers a secure and reliable backhaul, immune to vulnerabilities such as wireless eavesdropping or jamming.
From a connectivity perspective, while terrestrial solutions such as cell resizing and mobile base stations are effective for large-scale events, they may be excessive for the Hajj, where key sites are sparsely populated most of the year. These solutions also face challenges with co-channel interference and lack adaptability to the dynamic movement of pilgrims. NTFPs offer a flexible, rapidly deployable alternative. They provide wide-area LoS coverage, can follow crowd movements, and support aerial users with electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft—unlike fixed terrestrial towers. As a complementary overlay, NTFPs enhance capacity without requiring permanent infrastructure and support security and real-time monitoring. Also, aerial solutions such as untethered drones have limited coverage due to low-altitude operation and face frequent charging issues, limiting their endurance. In contrast, NTFPs operate at higher altitudes with wider coverage and continuous power via the tether, enabling long-duration, uninterrupted service.
The Critical Trifecta: Transportation, Surveillance, and Connectivity
Mobility and transportation. Efficient traffic management and mobility coordination are crucial during Hajj. NTFPs can provide comprehensive traffic monitoring from the airport to key Hajj locations, enabling accident prevention, incident management, and traffic-violation detection. Furthermore, the broad overview facilitates traffic-light regulation and transportation coordination for optimal traffic flow, including proactive congestion management. Finally, air taxis (eVTOL) are anticipated to play a vital role during the Hajj, particularly for emergency medical transportation. In this context, NTFPs can support these aerial vehicles by providing reliable LoS connectivity, utilizing RF bands for robust emergency communication and mmWave links for high data-rate transmissions.8 However, leveraging mmWave for such scenarios introduces challenges, particularly related to beamforming and beam alignment, due to the high mobility and dynamic nature of the aerial environment.
Surveillance and security. Pilgrim safety and surveillance are paramount during Hajj. NTFPs enable continuous monitoring of pilgrims at key locations, preventing accidents and identifying suspicious behavior for immediate security response. Their high-altitude vantage point also facilitates border surveillance, helping authorities prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing Hajj locations.
Connectivity and coverage. The high volume of pilgrims during Hajj puts a strain on communication infrastructure, particularly during peak times and disaster scenarios. NTFPs, with their elevated positioning and LoS communication capabilities, offer wide-area coverage and enhanced reliability in such demanding environments. NTFPs can be deployed in various network architectures, including cellular (for both access and backhaul), ad hoc, and cell-free systems. Additionally, NTFPs can act as aerial relays, bridging communication between satellites, terrestrial infrastructure, and end-user devices, thus strengthening both access and backhaul links in heterogeneous network environments.6 Importantly, their rapid deployment and reconfiguration capabilities make them ideal for restoring communication after disasters.
Conclusion
This article highlights the potential of NTFPs in addressing mobility, security, and connectivity challenges during the Hajj, which is summarized in Figure. 1. NTFPs offer key advantages, including high-altitude deployment, wide coverage, robust backhaul capacity, and versatility, enabling them to effectively mitigate these issues. Moreover, their seamless integration into the event infrastructure enhances the overall efficiency and reliability of the pilgrimage experience. Further details are available in the Belmekki et al. technical report.5
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