Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology
15
th
November 2020. Vol.98. No 21
© 2005 – ongoing JATIT & LLS
ISSN: 1992-8645 www.jatit.org E-ISSN: 1817-3195
3468
AN INTERACTIVE SYSTEM FOR ANALYZING MOVEMENT
OF BUSES IN HAJJ
1
EMAD FELEMBAN,
2
FAIZAN UR REHMAN,
3
ASAD ALI BIABANI,
4
ATIF NASEER,
5
OMAR
HUSSAIN,
6
EHSAN ULLAH WARRIACH
1
Computer Engineering Department, College of Computing and Information Systems, Umm Al-Qura
University, Saudi Arabia
2
Institute of Research and Consultation Studies, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
3
Science and Technology Unit, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia
4
Science and Technology Unit, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia
5
Science and Technology Unit, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia
6
Rochester Institute of Technology, United Arab Emirates
E-mail :
1
eafelemban@uqu.edu.sa,
2
fsrehman@uqu.edu.sa,
3
sabiabani@uqu.edu.sa,
4
anahmed@uqu.edu.sa,
5
omarkazem@gmail.com,
6
euwcad@rit.edu
ABSTRACT
Analyzing traffic behaviour performs a robust part to accomplish day-to-day activities of the users
efficiently and effectively, particularly in densely populated urban areas. Activities drawing in huge
numbers such as religious pilgrimage or sporting events, collisions among automotive traffic flows are
likely resulting in interruptions and unsafe situations for pilgrims, often creating chaos and congestion. The
issue is more ambitious as millions of pilgrim’s travels over a fixed period throughout Hajj from one
location to the other. Hajj is an Islamic pilgrimage which occurs annually during the month of Dhul al-
Hijjah
1
which begins on the eighth day of the month and last for five days where millions of pilgrims from
across the globe assemble in Makkah to perform the Spatio-temporal rituals. This article presents an
interactive platform that utilizes large-scale GPS traces to know the motion of buses during Hajj. For a
period of 60 days, GPS traces are gathered for over 20,000 plus buses for pilgrim’s mobility to conduct
their rituals. To save big spatial data, we developed an interactive platform that can help in analyses and
visualization. The analyses have been done for various stakeholders which includes company authorities.
They can visualize the movement of buses, identify driver’s behaviour, speed violations, and area of the
violations using maps-based visualization. Extracted expertise would be of benefit to stakeholders to
improve the accessibility of pilgrims throughout the Hajj by creating a smart transport system like
scheduling, evacuation, maximizing the number of buses or roads for each establishment.
Keywords: GPS Data, Trajectory, Hajj, Categorization, Big Data, Clustering
1
12th month of an Islamic lunar calendar
2. INTRODUCTION
Annually millions of Muslims from across
the globe visit the holy Makkah city to perform
Hajj, which is a mandatory pilgrimage for
every individual who is healthy and financially
affords it, once in their lifetime. Figure 1
shows the map of Mashaer
1
area including
Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat to perform the
Spatio-temporal rituals. For different Hajj rites
to be followed, pilgrims cross by different
routes, of Makkah to Mina during Hajj days.
On the aurora of 9th day of Dhul Hijjah
pilgrims travel to Arafat and spend their day
performing rituals till the time of sunset and
proceeds to Muzdalifah and remain there till
the next morning and then
continue for further ritual's. These mass
transportation of pilgrims restricts the region
results in a severe degree of movement blockage at
the same time and span.
During major activities like sports, religious
groupings, a smooth and seamless traffic
flow plays a vital role. Inappropriate traffic
activity frequently contributes to prolonged delays
and is a concern if not supervised and scheduled.
Controlling an immense flow of crowd
movement is a tough job for the officials to make
appropriate conclusions. Besides, effective
handling of pedestrians and traffic facilities needs
constant observation of these components but also
the distribution of regulation plus management
measures, knowledge and instructions to drivers.