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Layan Damanhouri
Saudi Gazette
A new recently launched innovative app aims to make your visit to the Holy Mosque much easier and even exciting. NaviBees, a navigator for indoor buildings and public spaces, is a product of the Makkah Techno Valley Company at Umm Al-Qura University and is one of the first innovations made locally.
Dedicated to technology localization, development and transfer, the company is a byproduct of the government’s initiatives to shift to a non-oil based economy.
Deputy director and cofounder of GIS innovation center Dr. Saleh Basalamah is CEO of NaviBees, a smart guide tool derived from the Tawaf app that is used to count the number of people circulating around the Kaaba to control traffic and crowd management.
“We use Bluetooth low energy beacons to get the location information,” Basalamah said in an interview with Saudi Gazette. “What we do is distribute the beacons around the building and the mobile app has an algorithm that we developed. It reads those signals and from those signals you can know where you are. So now that the app knows where you are, it can give you many services.”
These services include gathering data, counting number of people in a certain place, offering voice navigation in up to 8 languages, and much more. While Google Maps is used for road and transportation, NaviBees serves pedestrians and visitors to find their way in university campuses, airport terminals, malls, museums, train stations and now the Holy Mosque.
Basalamah said: “Being ‘better’ pushes them to compete with other similar services in the global market. You don’t want to be adopted just for sympathy because you’re made in Saudi or you’re local. You have to be better and have an added value. It is our job to make our system better. We have to be competitive in price, technical aspects, and quality.”
What started out as a research project turned into an entrepreneurship venture adopted by several clients in the region today including universities, event venues, and shopping centers, among others.
The smart guide is available on iOS and Android versions with features including 3-D maps, location analytics, and location-based notifications.
More innovation centers need to be created, Basalamah added, where traditional academic research needs to be coupled with industry experts who are skilled in development.
“Our goal is to commercialize the research from the university and the innovations into startups, fostering the knowledge economy in the Kingdom,” said Dr. Nabeel Koshak, vice chairman of the board of directors at Makkah Techno Valley Company. “We support, we provide space, funding, mentoring, coaching services to the ideas coming out of the research and innovation into commercial products and startups.”
When asked about the potential smartups and SMEs can do in an economy, Basalamah said the unemployment rate could be largely reduced by creating more jobs instead of relying on a few big corporations. “This is what really sustains the economy. Having SMEs that are technological and have a value and that are creating something is even more important.”
“It was not easy in the beginning. We faced an issue in attracting high quality Saudis. We attract the best, so we have lots of competition. But now that we have success stories, lots of people are applying.”
Working in an R&D center or in a startup is not the norm, he further added. “Our education system needs to send a message to the youth that they don’t have to be just employees; they can actually make a business that will hire employees and create opportunities.”
“To create a startup is definitely challenging and a new culture,” Dr. Koshak said.
