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Presidency of Two Holy Mosques Affairs Develops AI Technology in Grand Mosque

July 24, 2021

  MAKKAH , July 23 (INP): The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque intensified the work of artificial intelligence (AI) robots for sterilization, epidemic control, and the distribution of blessed Zamzam water in the Grand Mosque, coinciding with the launch of the Presidency of Two Holy Mosques Affairs' plan to receive pilgrims to perform their Hajj rites, according to strict precautionary and preventive measures, so as to preserve their safety. The Assistant Director of Technical and Service Affairs for Administrative Affairs, Mansour Al-Mansoori, explained that the presidency, within its comprehensive development plan 2024, has set plans, strategies and objectives to keep pace with the Kingdom’s Vision (2030), by the use of modern technologies and artificial intelligence technology in the service of the Two Holy Mosques. He further said the artificial intelligence is used in operating robots inside the Grand Mosque according to maps programmed through (Google Map) maps and covering its all parts, through specific paths to include Mataf courtyard, Al-Masaa and all the Grand Mosque's facilities, indicating that the Presidency is actively seeking to benefit from the innovations and technology through which the Presidency achieves providing the Two Holy Mosques with the world class and finest services citing the use of special robots in sterilization process through six levels, spraying sterilizers mixed with rose water on a scale of one and a half meters, and each robot covers an area of 600 meters of grounds of the Grand Mosque, with a quantity of sterilizers of more than 23.8 liters, with a consumption rate of two liters per hour, and the ability to work around the clock. He also stressed that the Presidency has succeeded to achieve a unique experience, the first of its kind in the Kingdom, facing environmental challenges and using "digitization" to cover large areas for sterilization through technology. For his part, the Director of the Artificial Intelligence Office at the Presidency of Two Holy Mosques Affairs, Eng. Sinan Al-Turkistani, stated that the presidency has kept pace with the Kingdom's trend towards technical and digital development and its interest in AI technology by introducing an office specialized in data and artificial intelligence, which carries out data handling policies, studies, ideas and initiatives for the use of AI in the Two Holy Mosques. He added that the office is keen to develop qualitative initiatives aimed at improving the experience of pilgrims while performing their rituals by studying the initiatives that are launched and taking advantage of techniques for identifying languages by sound, image and heat, in providing the latest mobile automatic devices that are directly linked to central processing systems and smart data base, which in turn stores data and uses it in planning, operations management and proactive decision-making. Among the qualitative initiatives presented by the Presidency is the automated sterilization robot which is distributing Zamzam water bottles.