Questions/Answers

The Holo-Journey is an advanced Holograms Application, which merges three state of the art technologies; the Mixed Reality, the Blockchain technology and Internet of Things (IoT) technology that was deployed in humidity and temperature sensors. The Saudi Commission developed the application for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), which received a letter from Microsoft confirming that, “This initiative is the first initiative in the world to make such a unique achievement”. The Holo-Journey application offers users an exceptional experience by enabling them to use the Mixed Reality technology to virtually tour museums while viewing the antiquities items and accessing data with statistical information related to the sector of tourism in Saudi Arabia. The Blockchain technology gives users the opportunity to evaluate services in a bid to enhance the principle of transparency while their identity and information are security stored and not tampered with. The IoT technology was also used to implement the concept of e-hospitality as users can with one click have their preferred beverage automatically prepared. In addition, humidity and temperature sensors were placed inside museums to continuously monitor desired atmosphere required to keep physical objects intact and avoid any surface damage. The application seeks to make optimal use of modern technologies to improve public services offered in the tourism sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Holo Journey is an application that is based on modern technologies and was developed by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) as part of its ongoing efforts to improve digital infrastructure in the tourism sector and accelerate digital transformation in the public sector services. The app meets all the criteria under the category (Promoting Digital transformation in public sector institution). It entrenches the concept of openness and enhances innovation in the public sector as detailed in the evaluation report. The application uses frontier technologies to transform public administration and promotes cooperation across sectors.

By seeking to improve services and this app can be used in different fields such as health, education and by enhancing building partnerships and encouraging innovation by the public sector workers and seeking to contribute to the economic growth. The application contributes to fulfilling several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including Good Health and Well-being, Quality Education, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure and Partnerships to achieve the Goal and Reducing Inequality within and among countries. The app is accessible, can be used by all segments of the society, and can be transferred to other countries.

The application is accessible, user-friendly and attractive. The application has a direct positive impact on the quality and level of services provided by the public sector institutions to citizens and residents from all walks of life. Children and the elderly can use the application without any need for special assistance. The application provides visuals of artifacts and objects on display in museum and at the same time highlights statistics and information about each object with user feedback. The same information is also available in audio files, thus the blind , deaf and disabilities cases can easily use the application as it does not distinguish between whether a person suffers from a certain disability or not. The application is available in all museums across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia without any distinction and can be easily integrated in other public sectors even in areas far from the city center. The application is available in Arabic and English. At the same time, sign language is also used to provide necessary explanation about statistics being reviewed and objects on display at museum.

The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage received a letter of recognition and appreciation from Microsoft confirming that it is the first initiative in the world to make such a unique achievement. The application is innovative as it encompasses three of the most advanced technologies in one solution. It combines the Blockchain technology, Mixed Reality and the Internet of Things. This is a unique achievement not only in the Middle East but also around the world. The app is fully developed by public sector employees. The application can be easily integrated in any sectors as it can be customized to serve any needs.

The Holo-Journey application was developed by the Commission’s team, deploying state of the art technologies. The application is considered a unique and an unprecedented achievement in the field of digital transformation and deploying the technologies of today for providing better public services to users. It is the first innovative application to deploy three disruptive technologies in one place. The innovation is original as it is an achievement that has not been realized yet at the world's level. The originality and innovation of the application also lie in the fact that it can be adopted in any sector and context.

The Holo-Journey application is being implemented in all museums across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the first phase. Adoption of the application will expand to cover different other areas such as health, education, public services, libraries and investment promotion. Work is underway to conduct cooperation with other public agencies to share the story of success and maximize the benefit in other sectors. The application has already been showcased in many world-renowned events such as GITEX Technology Week in Dubai, Louvre Abu Dhabi and World Travel Market in London and work will continue to share the success globally.

The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) placed all necessary resources, including financial resources, at the disposal of the team that developed the application. All resources, including equipment, software and the antiquities items, were made available to build the application. The SCTH was keen on receiving the public opinion about what features need to be included in the application as it was under development out of its keenness to take their feedback, suggestions and their needs into consideration.

The application seeks to provide users with a new and unique tourism experience as it gives them the opportunity to virtually tour the Kingdom’s museum and tourism attractions and introduces them to the tourism features of Saudi Arabia, which plays a role in supporting the tourism sector, which is a key pillar of the Kingdom’s economy. The application, which is currently being used in museum, deploys IoT-based humidity and temperature sensors inside museums to continuously monitor the desired atmosphere required to keep physical objects intact and avoid any surface damage. The application can be used in others sectors of public service including health and education, which will contribute to the wellbeing of the society whether when it comes to improved medical or educational services or having more convenient access to services and information The integration of the application in the tourism sector, and soon in other sectors, will help drive economic growth as adoption of technology results in increased productivity and requires constant innovation to always be ahead and competitive.

Yes

The solution was evaluated by comparing its components, architecture and technology with other market solutions that are comparative to its nature; system components were reviewed by a specialized technical team of leading architects and experts from the region. The team focused on the uniqueness of technology, the functionality, and purpose of the solution and the level of complexity in components integration as well as security.

The application's components, architecture and technology were independently evaluated and compared with other market solutions. The evaluation was conducted by a specialized team of key and independent experts from the region. Evaluation covered the application's idea, technology, integration and its natural interaction and the app was top in all these indicators when compared to other market solutions, which confirms its uniqueness and distinction. The application's complexity and security were also tested and assessed. 1- Idea 2- Natural Interaction 3- Technology. 4- Integration.

Evaluation covered the application's area and founded that the app was top in all these indicators, which confirms its uniqueness and distinction. The application's complexity and security were also tested and assessed. 1- Idea: The team could not find any similar idea or existing application. 2- Natural Interaction: The solution employed hardware technology manufactured and developed by Microsoft, the hardware used was HoloLens, an award-winning Mixed Reality Headset, the Holo-Journey solution used the natural user interface of the HoloLens device, and the learning curve was minimal. 3- Technology: The results concluded that the technology combined in the solution was fascinating and unprecedented. The use of Microsoft Azure Cloud, along with IoT and Blockchain in addition to Mixed Reality is something unseen before. 4- Integration: The solution’s deep interaction with each component made the whole setup tightly integrated and resulted in a pleasant cycle of user experience from Holographic Museum Access to Blockchain Feedback Posting to IoT Sensor Data Viewing.

One of the SDGs' goals is Partnerships for the Goals that aims at strengthening and revitalizing the global partnership for sustainable development. The Holo-Journey app is an example in this regard, as the SCTH cooperated with Microsoft, which made this achievement possible. The SCTH will be working to share the experience with counterparts in the region and the world to maximize the benefit and share the knowledge for the public good. The cooperation between the SCTH and Microsoft is an example of the effective and successful partnerships between the private and the public sectors. The application was developed completely and purely by the Commission’s employees who were involved in the entire process of innovation. The Holo Journey application ensures higher engagement by users and is inclusive in the sense that all users from all walks of life can easily use the application. Out of its keenness that the application fulfills users’ demands and meets their expectations, the SCTH opened the door for receiving suggestions from the public about what the application needs to include their suggestions and inputs. SCTH did very strong engagement with public in this achievement in all phases such as gathering requirement and designing, analyzing, implementing and evaluating.

The development of the Holo-Journey application by public sector workers in Saudi Arabia sets an example to be followed. The application is a story of success as it does not only encompass three of the most advanced technologies for the first time at the global level, but the development of the application is an example of how public sector workforce can be innovative and true drivers and enablers of desire change and improvement in the quality of public sector service. This success story make fast changes forward to the digital transformation. There is a large room for further improvement and the potential for integrating the application in several public service sectors is huge with different language to covering the world.