Client-Server Network Architecture for Safe Pilgrim Journey in theKingdom of Saudi Arabia

Imed Ben DhaouCollege of Engineering

Al Jouf UniversityP.O.Box 2014, Sakakah

Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaEmail: imed.bendhaou@ju.edu.sa

Abstract— This paper proposes a client-server network ar-chitecture for safe pilgrimage in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.The proposed architecture allows for continuous tracking andtrip planning of shuttle-bus during its journey to the holy cityof Makkah using assisted GPS. For personnel identification thearchitecture supports RFID technology. The proposed RFIDtechnology is Java contactless card that enables both bus driversand travel agencies to prevent unauthorized passengers to boardthe bus and to supervise authorized passengers during breaks.Furthermore Java card based system facilitates offline andonline passengers identifications at the various checking pointsby the Saudi authorities.Wireless access to the internet is a vital layer in the proposedarchitecture as it allows for tracking, trip planning and on-lineidentity verification. Experimental results for wireless accessto the internet show that HSPA is better than WiMAX as itoffers acceptable quality of service at vehicle speed that exceeds120kmph.

I. INTRODUCTION

The growing number of pilgrims have brought serioussafety and health care challenges to the Saudi authorities.In each year of the Islamic calendar over two million peoplegather in the holy city of Makkah for pilgrim rituals. Thesepilgrims are from diverse background, social status, gender,and ages. The Saudi authorities mobilize its resources toguarantee safe pilgrimage and to prevent tragic accidentsmonths before the start of the Hajj (Islamic pilgrimage).

Foreign and Saudi’s pilgrims alike are admitted to performpilgrimage through an authorized travel company. Each travelcompany is responsible for, among others, accommodation,transportations, nutrition and safety in compliance with theSaudi regulations. Depending up on the learned experiencesfrom the past pilgrimages and taking into account inter-national events such as global threats and diseases, theSaudi watch dog revises these rules with the ultimate aimto guarantee safe pilgrimage. Annually, travel agencies areasked to adhere to the rules, advises and guidelines devisedby the Saudi authorities. The latter has full right to withdrawpermits, sanction, and penalise the faulty travel agency.

The Hajj is a strictly government issue. Most Islamiccountries have Hajj delegates who work closely with Saudiauthorities to guarantee safe pilgrimage. Each member ofthe Organization of the Islamic Conference has annuallyfixed quota of pilgrims. The quota aims, among others, toprevent overloading pilgrimage facilities and infrastructures.

The allocated quota is calculated as follows, for each onemillion inhabitant one thousand pilgrims are granted permits.For example, if a member state has a total population of10 million inhabitants (example Tunisia) its quota will be10 × 1000 = 10000 pilgrims annually. Waiting list is acommon procedure if the number of applicants exceeds theallocated quota.

Recently, there has been an increasing pressure to useelectronic passports and electronic identifications world-wideto prevent frauds and other unacceptable security violationsat airports or any other relevant international frontiers.

The objective of this work is to propose solution to addressthe following problems: (1) reduce the travel time to Makkahby better bus scheduling and trip planning, (2) prevent frauds,(3) improve pilgrimage services,(4) reduce air pollution, and(5) guarantee safe pilgrimage.

The reminder of this paper is organized as follows. SectionII formulates the problem and reviews works related to safepilgrimage. The proposed architecture is outlined in SectionIII. Wireless access to the internet is a vital layer in theproposed architecture which is discussed in Section IV. Anarchitecture to automatically identify pilgrim is presentedin Section V. Experiments, methodology to evaluate theproposed architecture, and results are explained in SectionVI. Finally, Section VII concludes the paper.

II. PROBLEM FORMULATION

Prior to pilgrim days, each pilgrim should apply fora permit through an authorised travel company[13]. Fig.1shows Hajj permit issued by the Saudi ministry of Interior inthe year 1429 Hijri (2008). The permit contains the followingprinted information: (1) card number provided by the Interiorministry, (2) ID number of the pilgrim, (3) nationality, (4)name of the travel agency,(5) picture of the pilgrim, and (6)blood type. On the way to Makkah, the shuttle-bus will besubjected to inspections at various checkpoints distributed atknown locations. Those points are chosen by the ministryof Interior with the aim to prevent passengers with no Hajjpermit or unauthorised bus from entering the holy city ofMakkah.

During the trip to Makkah, shuttle-busses make regularstops to allow pilgrims access to showers, coffee-shops andmosques for prayers. Most important of these stop points

2010 IEEE Intelligent Vehicles SymposiumUniversity of California, San Diego, CA, USAJune 21-24, 2010

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Fig. 1. Hajj permit issued in 1429 Hijjri (2008)

are stations known as Miqats, at which, pilgrim assumesIhram (a sacred state which a Muslim must enter in order toperform the major or minor pilgrimage) [10]. The Miqats arecumbersome to many drivers due to the difficulty both to findsuitable parking slot near the ablution place and to collectpilgrims in time. It is very usual that drivers have to waitfor lost pilgrims who were unable to either locate the bus orfind their way back to the bus. This situation is less drasticat relaxing points. The bus driver before leaving those stopshas to make sure that all passengers are on-board and nointruder has boarded the bus. Hence ID checking helps alsothe travel agencies to better serve their clients by avoidinglengthy stops and frustating waiting time.

On-board navigation systems are used at the bus bythe driver to plan his trip and by traffic authorities fortraffic management. The system should include the followingservices (1) positioning, (2) digital map database, (3) mapmatching, (4) route planning and guidance [15].

A. Related works

In [11], the author has reported an RFID system to auto-matically identify pilgrims. The system is comprised of RFIDwristband tags and handheld devices that can wirelessly readpilgrim’s data. The system has been tested on a sample of1000 elderly pilgrims from the Ivory Cost. A single RFIDreader has been used. The tags are used as an identifier toread data from pilgrims’ data-base. The data-base formedduring this pilot study contained picture, name, blood-type,date of birth, and home address at the country of origin ofeach pilgrim. The system has shown satisfactory results atcheck points. It has also been reported that the programmingphase of these tags was simple and fast. To speed-up thechecking process, a solution using a distinguished color forwristband tags has been proposed. The chosen color helpsat camp entrance to rapidly differentiate between those whoshould be granted entrance and those who should not. Whileit is true that color based identification is a good solution forfast checking, this solution is prone to falsification.

In [12], a pilgrim tracking system using RFID has beenproposed. The system is composed of the following three-

tiers: presentation, pilgrim locator server, and storage. Theproposed system aims to (i) collect the exact statistics of thepilgrims and the manner they are dispersed, (ii) locate lostor disoriented pilgrims, (iii) help perform quick re-locationof pilgrims, and (iv) assist the pilgrims to locate their familymembers and SOS units.

During pilgrimage days as well as on the way to Makkah,pilgrims spend most of the time in open spaces such asduring the day of Arafat and the day of immolation. Inoutdoor environment, the assisted GPS is very attractiveand cost-effective solution for location based services ascompared to RFID technology. The latter is very usefulfor indoor localisation as satellite signal cannot penetrateindoors.

Recently, the Hajj authorities have tested an RFID trafficmanagement system on the way from holy site of Arafat tothe holy site of Muzdalifah, which is referred to as Al-Nafrahphase of Hajj. In the proposed solution, passive RFID tagshave been installed on the shuttle-bus’s windshield. Readershave been placed in parking and at some specific points alongthe route Arafat Muzdalifah , and Minna. The length of thistrip is approximately 5km. The readers feed traffic authoritieswith information that can help to schedule bus trips, tostudy traffic load, and to improve the existing infrastructures.It has been reported that this traffic management solutionhas helped shorten the trip time between the holy sites,achieving high traffic flow rates, reducing air pollution, andachieving better and more precise scheduling of shuttle-buscaravans. With availability of continuous tracking data, theproposed solution can be further improved by using efficienttrip planning algorithms [16]. Time intervals for continuoustraffic updates are outlined in Subsection VI-D.

III. PROPOSED ARCHITECTURE

From the above problem formulation it is obvious thatwireless access to servers is needed for the following rea-sons (1) the existence of a data-base that houses data forpilgrims, travel agency, and buses, (2) the need to use trafficmanagement software, and (3) the availability of GIS maps.The system should have possibility for geolocalisation ofpilgrims and shuttle-bus. Localization services shall be usedby pilgrims to find shuttle-bus in parking area and canbe used by traffic management tools for trip planning andtracking. Fig.2 depicts the proposed architecture that will bedetailed in subsequent sections.

Fig. 2. System architecture for Safe Pilgrim Journey.

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IV. WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS

Fueled by the wide acceptance of internet and the prolif-eration of Internet services, wireless broadband access havebeen designed to IP-based protocols and architecture [14].In what follows, we discuss two main available technologiesfor wireless internet access: WiMAX and HSPA.

A. Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access:WiMAX

WiMAX is an emerging wireless standard designed formetropolitan area networks. Signal processing techniques ofthe WiMAX is described by the standard IEEE 802.16. Thephysical layer of the WiMAX uses orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing (OFDM). The number of subchannlessupported by the standard is 256 for OFDM. For the caseof scalable OFDM multiple access techniques, the standardbacks the following number of subchannels: 128, 512, 1Kand 2K. To further increase the robustness of physical layersignal to fading and multi-path propagation, the standard usesadaptive modulation and coding techniques. To accommodatevarious delay-spread of the wireless channel, 806.16 supportsfour different lengths of the cyclic-prefix. The relative lengthof the cyclic-prefix to the length of useful OFDM symbolare 1

4 , 18 ,

116 and 1

32 [18]. The MAC layer has support to,among others, QoS, power management, security, multi-cast/broadcast services, and mobility. Four types of mobilityare supported (1) Nomadic, (2) Portable, (3) Simple and(4) Full mobility. The maximum speed tested for mobilereception of WiMAX signal is 120kmph.

The reference [17] is a comprehensive material on WiMaxwith detailed comparison to other broadband wireless access.Fig.3 shows WiMAX network architecture in which fourmobile stations are connected to a single base station. Thelatter is connected to the IP network through access networkgateway.

Fig. 3. WiMAX network architecture.

B. High-Speed Packet Access: HSPA

High-Speed Packet Access is a mobile telephony proto-col developed within 3GPP (third generation partnership)project to support switched wireless packet data transmissionand to deliver high-speed internet to mobile terminals [2].

HSPA is a packet switching technique which resulted fromcombination of both High-Speed Downlink Packet Access(HSDPA) and High-Speed-Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA).Fig.4 shows HSPA network architecture in which threemobile stations are connected to a base station. In 3GPP,base station is connected to the IP network through radionetwork controller and 3G mobile switching center. Detaileddescription of the functionality of each of the blocks withinwireless network supporting voice communication is reportedin [19]. Theoretically, the peak data rate offered by HSPA is

Fig. 4. HSPA network architecture.

14.4Mbps, using a 5MHz channel and 15 codes[17].Due to its fast penetration of UMTS into the market and theneed to increase the number of mobile e-services such asmobile e-commerce, service providers have upgraded theirnetwork to have full support of HSPA [20]. As a result anumber of applications using HSPA technology have beendeveloped. In [21] a video link between a moving ambulanceand a hospital has been proposed and tested to supportemergency situations. It has been reported that the servicequality provided by HSPA is good for telemedicine andtele-consulting. In [23] a network architecture and a policy-based framework to bring internet connection to users inhigh occupancy vehicle has been devised. In [22] the authorshave proposed a public safety system using wireless switchedpacket data.

V. RADIO FRQUENCY IDENTIFICATION: RFID

Radio Frequency Identification is an electronic system thatholds and manages the identity of the holder through wirelesslink generally known as contactless ID. RFID system iscomprised of the following entities: (1) a tag which canbe either active or passive that contains digital identity ofthe holder and a communication interface, (2) a transponderwhich can, among other things, read/ write data into the tagand deliver power to the associated card. In comparison tothe wireless cellular network the transponder is the substitutefor the base station and the tag is the sub for the mobilestation. Thanks to the anti-collision protocol, the transpondercan communicate with various tags located in its vicinity(coverage area).

Over the years RFID, systems have experienced hugesuccess in the following areas: (1) security/access control,

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(2) asset management, (3)transportation, (4) supply chainmanagement, (5) point of sale, (6) rental item tracking, (6)toll collection, (7) automobile immobilisers, (8) baggage han-dling, (9) animal tracking, and (10) Real time location sys-tems [24]. Currently the standardization body dealing withelectronic product code, commonly known as EPCglobalsupports four different types of card labeled as class 1, class2, class 3 and class 4 [3]. Technical details of conctactlesssmart card are described in ISO 1443 for proximity cardand ISO 15693 for vicinity card. Proximity card can be readat the distances less than 10cm. In the market there are anumber of RFID systems that complies with ISO 14443 orISO 15693. Among them we cite MIFARE, HITAG, ICODEand UCODE from NXP semiconductors. Fig.5 shows blockdiagram of MIFARE tag.MIFARE is a proximity smart card technology that worksin the 13.56MHz and complies with ISO 14443 type A.MIFARE has been reported the widely used contactless cardin the world [5].

Fig. 5. Architecture of MIFARE tag.

In this work, Netronix modules MM-05 and Microdemdemonstration module have been used in conjunction withframer to explore the feature of MIFARE [6]. In addition tothe vulnerability of MIFARE to various attacks as reportedin [25], we’ve found that the development of applicationsusing MIFARE is tedious as the developer needs to knowthe architecture of the card and the company specific electricparameters. As a result, we strongly recommend the use ofJava card as explained below.

Smart card contains in addition to ROM, EEPROM andRAM a micro-controller with, in some rare cases, co-processor for cryptographic operation as shown in Fig.6. Themost commercially accepted architecture is smart card thatsupports Java, which is known as Javacard. The popularityof Javacard comes from the development perspective as itfrees the developer from writing a code specific to thetarget card technology. Java card platform is the developmentenvironment that has greatly reduced the development cycleof smart card applications and has thus rendered it cost-effective as explained in the next paragraph.

The operating system of the Javacard is named Java VirtualMachine which is logged in its mask programmed read-only memory (ROM). Java applets can be developed usingJava card platform then compiled into hardware compliantassembler code, known as bytecode, downloadable into thecard [26].

Fig. 6. Architecture of contactless smart card.

VI. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

A. Experimental setup

To assess the quality of the wireless access to the internetusing HSPA and WIMAX, a trial freeware Myconnection PCLite Edition, version 3.0e build 1523 installed on Sony laptopcomputer has been used. The laptop computer uses windowsvista home premium, Intel processor Core Duo CPU withmemory RAM 3GB. The laptop is equipped with integratedcard Intel Wireless WiFi link 5100. The test results forinternet connection is measured using the server visualwarein USA-Illinois[7].

B. Stationary experiment

Fig.7 shows the WiMAX network setup by InfiNet Wire-less [8]. The network consists of InfiNet wireless router,WiMAX towers and WiFi mesh network. InfiNet router canbe configured to work as a base-station or as a subscriberunit. In this experiment, InfiNet routers have been configuredto form point-to-multipoint network. The laptop computerhad been connected to the InfiNet router through WiFi linkat a speed of 54Mbps. Test results for the application speed

Fig. 7. WiMAX network used in the experiment.

are: download-speed is 635Kbps, upload speed is 1.79Mbps,quality of service 36% and maximum delay is 515ms. Theseresults are shown in Fig.8.

To assess the quality of wireless internet through HSPA,the laptop computer in a fix position has been connectedto HSPA network through WLAN/HSPA modem. Test re-sults for the application speed are: quality of service 36%,

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Fig. 8. Test results for WiMax WLAN solution.

download-speed is 400Kbps, upload speed is 179 Kbps andmaximum delay is 800ms. These results are plotted in Fig.9.

Fig. 9. Test results for HSPA WLAN solution

C. Mobile Access to the Internet.

Due to the lack of WIMAX operators in the Kingdom,only HSPA experiment was conducted in the city of Sakakah.The equipments used during this experiment are shown inFig.10. These equipments are laptop computer with the char-acteristics reported at the beginning of this section, HSPAmodem, and WLAN interface. Both modem and computerlaptop have been placed inside the vehicle. The experiment

Fig. 10. Equipments used to assess the quality of mobile access to theinternet through HSPA network.

had two phases. The first phase is mobile reception insidethe city of Sakakah. Peer-to-peer internet video conferencing

system has been used to assess the quality of service. Forup to speed of 80kmph, no interruption had occurred whichshows that HSPA is reliable for real-time applications. In thesecond phase, the vehicle has been driven outside the cityof Sakakh on the high-way to Al Madinah. There, variouscall drop out have been experienced and in many instancesthe coverage was not good enough to maintain full qualityof the signal. The same problem has been reported in [21].Test results for mobile access to the internet are shown inFig.11 and are summarized as follows: quality of service30%, upload speed is 255Kbps, download speed is 795Kbps,and maximum delay is 277ms.

The good performance of mobile access to the internetHSPA as compared to stationary access through HSPA isdue to the difference between the network of two operatorsas well as due to the traffic load across those networks.

Fig. 11. Graph showing application speed during navigation in the city ofSakakah.

D. Tracking and Navigation

To assess the quality of navigation in the kingdom, NokiaNavigator 6210 running Symbian operating system has beenused. The navigator has a map application in addition to anintegrated GPS receiver and a digital compass. Nokia devicessupport OVI map. Nokia has a set of tools and kits to de-velop applications for devices with the following platforms:Symbian, series 40 and Maemo[9]. During this experimentboth voice and video-guided navigations have been testedin the following cities AL Madinah, Makkah, Jeddah andSakakah. For positioning, Nokia navigator uses assisted GPS(A-GPS). It requires connection to the internet using WAP2.0, GPRS, EDGE or HSPDA. The internet access is neededto get, among others, updates on traffic information, roadstatus and to download tourist guides. Mobile user can gettraffic updates manually or automatically every 5, 10, 20, or40 minutes. Traffic information helps to dynamically selectthe fastest road to destination. Traffic information is locatedon a server referred to as Real Time Traffic Server (RTT).Currently this option is not available in the Kingdom of SaudiArabia. Fig.12 and Fig.13 show screenshots of OVI mapsused to assess the quality of navigation on our journey toMakkah and Al Madinah, respectively.

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Fig. 12. Snapshot of OVI map used for navigation from Jeddah to Makkahusing A-GPS.

Fig. 13. Screen shot of the OVI map used for navigation on our Journeyto Al Madinah.

VII. CONCLUSION

In this paper we have proposed a client-server architecturefor safe pilgrim journey in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Itis recommended for personnel identification to use Javacard.For tracking assisted GPS together with wireless access tothe internet (to update traffic information and to track shuttle-bus) has been proposed. The wireless internet access can beeither through WiMAX or through HSPA network.For stationary connection to wireless internet both WiMAXand HSPA have been tested. Test results show that WiMAXoutperforms HSPA solution. However WiMAX is not a

good solution for mobile application at a speed that exceeds120kmph. For continuous tracking during the journey, HSPAis the best solution as it can support multiple vehicle speedsand the network quality of service can accommodate real-time applications such as real-time traffic updates.

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