Spatio-temporal modeling and application for efficient online reporting and tracking of lost items during Huge Crowd Gatherings

Abstract

In huge crowd gatherings such as Hajj, the probability of losing personal belongings of the pilgrim is relatively high. The consequences are also severe in some cases for example when someone loses his passport or valuables without which it is difficult to travel back to his country. Therefore, in this paper, we propose modeling and prototype application for effective online reporting and tracking/searching of lost and found items in a huge crowd gathering scenario of Hajj. Hajj is an important pillar of Islam and around 3 million pilgrims visit Makkah and Madinah to perform Hajj. We propose spatio-temporal modeling of all events and data with the context of space and time. We first define spatio-temporal construct of the event and then spatio-temporal functions for effective reporting and tracking of lost items. The modeling aims to facilitate both pilgrims and the lost and found department in Makkah and Madinah. The web-based service will allow pilgrims to report and track the lost and found item online effectively. The proposed model will use the identifying information to match lost items and persons with the found information considering the spatio-temporal context. We present the results of the implementation of web service integrated with spatio-temporal database.