A Two-Phase Drone-Truck Optimization Framework for Patrolling and Thermal Comfort: Sustainable Hajj Safety

The annual Hajj pilgrimage, attended by millions in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is characterized by extreme weather conditions and dense crowds, posing significant challenges in crowd management and thermal comfort. This study introduces a novel optimization framework for a drone-truck coo...

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Main Authors: Shrouq Gamal, Mujahid N. Syed
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10904225/
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author Shrouq Gamal
Mujahid N. Syed
author_facet Shrouq Gamal
Mujahid N. Syed
author_sort Shrouq Gamal
collection DOAJ
description The annual Hajj pilgrimage, attended by millions in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is characterized by extreme weather conditions and dense crowds, posing significant challenges in crowd management and thermal comfort. This study introduces a novel optimization framework for a drone-truck cooperative system designed to enhance thermal comfort during Hajj. The framework focuses on deploying drones to continuously monitor real-time data on air quality, temperature, humidity, and crowd conditions, followed by optimized responses to provide timely interventions. A key feature of the proposed framework is its integration of energy consumption and carbon emission considerations, aligning with sustainability and humanitarian objectives. The framework aims to minimize travel time and the total costs associated with truck and drone deployment, spraying material distribution, energy consumption, and carbon emissions. By simulating various scenarios in key Hajj locations-Arafat, Muzdalifah, and Mina Tent City-the study identifies optimal drone routing and deployment strategies to mitigate health risks associated with thermal stress and overcrowding. This research represents the first integration of drones, lab-on-drones, and spraying drones for thermal comfort enhancement during Hajj, promoting a safer and more environmentally sustainable pilgrimage experience. It underscores the transformative potential of technology in addressing critical public health challenges at large-scale, short-term, high-density events.
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spelling doaj-art-cdbcd65657b04b3282a76a9bfffaff052025-08-20T02:58:07ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362025-01-0113387453877710.1109/ACCESS.2025.354579310904225A Two-Phase Drone-Truck Optimization Framework for Patrolling and Thermal Comfort: Sustainable Hajj SafetyShrouq Gamal0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8595-0643Mujahid N. Syed1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3862-2935Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Interdisciplinary Research Center for Intelligent Secure Systems, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaThe annual Hajj pilgrimage, attended by millions in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is characterized by extreme weather conditions and dense crowds, posing significant challenges in crowd management and thermal comfort. This study introduces a novel optimization framework for a drone-truck cooperative system designed to enhance thermal comfort during Hajj. The framework focuses on deploying drones to continuously monitor real-time data on air quality, temperature, humidity, and crowd conditions, followed by optimized responses to provide timely interventions. A key feature of the proposed framework is its integration of energy consumption and carbon emission considerations, aligning with sustainability and humanitarian objectives. The framework aims to minimize travel time and the total costs associated with truck and drone deployment, spraying material distribution, energy consumption, and carbon emissions. By simulating various scenarios in key Hajj locations-Arafat, Muzdalifah, and Mina Tent City-the study identifies optimal drone routing and deployment strategies to mitigate health risks associated with thermal stress and overcrowding. This research represents the first integration of drones, lab-on-drones, and spraying drones for thermal comfort enhancement during Hajj, promoting a safer and more environmentally sustainable pilgrimage experience. It underscores the transformative potential of technology in addressing critical public health challenges at large-scale, short-term, high-density events.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10904225/Drone-truck modelMILPpatrollingthermal comfortoptimizationsustainability
spellingShingle Shrouq Gamal
Mujahid N. Syed
A Two-Phase Drone-Truck Optimization Framework for Patrolling and Thermal Comfort: Sustainable Hajj Safety
IEEE Access
Drone-truck model
MILP
patrolling
thermal comfort
optimization
sustainability
title A Two-Phase Drone-Truck Optimization Framework for Patrolling and Thermal Comfort: Sustainable Hajj Safety
title_full A Two-Phase Drone-Truck Optimization Framework for Patrolling and Thermal Comfort: Sustainable Hajj Safety
title_fullStr A Two-Phase Drone-Truck Optimization Framework for Patrolling and Thermal Comfort: Sustainable Hajj Safety
title_full_unstemmed A Two-Phase Drone-Truck Optimization Framework for Patrolling and Thermal Comfort: Sustainable Hajj Safety
title_short A Two-Phase Drone-Truck Optimization Framework for Patrolling and Thermal Comfort: Sustainable Hajj Safety
title_sort two phase drone truck optimization framework for patrolling and thermal comfort sustainable hajj safety
topic Drone-truck model
MILP
patrolling
thermal comfort
optimization
sustainability
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10904225/
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AT shrouqgamal twophasedronetruckoptimizationframeworkforpatrollingandthermalcomfortsustainablehajjsafety
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