Umrah 2022: Saudi Arabia Deploys Robots to Assist Pilgrims

Rabat – Saudi Arabia has deployed multilingual “Guidance Robots” at holy mosques during the holy month of Ramadan, to assist and guide pilgrims with Umrah rituals and improve visitor experience.

According to the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, the robots help pilgrims by giving them advice and instructions on how to perform Umrah rituals, as well as fatwas on legal concerns related to doing Umrah.

The robots also answer questions about the holy sites and provide worshippers with the opportunity to interact with qualified Muslim scholars, who speak different languages, to further answer their inquiries.

According to the deputy president for guidance affairs Sheikh Badr bin Abdullah Al-Furaih the robot is frequently asked 100 to 150 questions every day on Umrah rituals during Ramadan.

The four-wheeled 21-inch touch screen robots answer in 11 different languages, including English, Turkish, Persian, Urdu, and Russian.

The guidance robots have a “smart stopping system” that ensures “smooth and flexible movement”, as well as front and rear cameras, high-definition headphones and microphones. The robots are connected to a high-speed Wi-Fi network.

The General Presidency has also introduced robots for sterilization work and Zamzam water distribution to pilgrims. On a full battery charge, the robots can run for up to eight hours.

Muslims all over the world travel to Mecca, Saudi Arabia every year for the hajj and Umrah pilgrimage to pray at Great Mosque, also known as Al-Masjid Al-Haram, Islam’s holiest site.

In the holy site of Mecca, robots are nothing new. During last year’s hajj, the small machines distributed water to pilgrims.

In addition, Saudi Arabia is looking into robots for non-religious purposes, with some Saudi government entities investing in artificial intelligence, such as for use at state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco.

The Gulf country made headlines in 2017 when it gave citizenship to Sophia, a female robot, in an attempt to promote Saudi Arabia’s artificial intelligence.