Saudi Arabia

Sara AI: Saudi Arabia’s First Smart Travel Guide

Published

2 hours ago

19th November 2024

Huda

Sara AI, a smart guide robot prototype, launched at the Spirit of Saudi Arabia pavilion during the World Travel Market (WTM) in London.

The Saudi Tourism Authority debuted the beta version of Sara AI: A smart travel guide robot prototype at the Spirit of Saudi Arabia pavilion during the World Travel Market (WTM) show in London, which concluded a few days ago. This took place to keep up with international events.

Sara’s Cultural Knowledge

Sara, the intelligent guide robot, surprised everyone by captivating them with her fascinating tales and enthusiastic delivery of information on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s tourist attractions and experiences.

By using all digital tools, artificial intelligence, and technical solutions to support Saudi tourism, the introduction of the smart robot guide Sara exemplifies the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 for digital transformation in all disciplines, specifically the tourist industry.

This is undoubtedly what caused the Kingdom to compete in the tourist industry with the biggest nations worldwide. Sara, the astute guide, can ask and respond to guests’ questions while presenting facts in an organised and intelligible way.

She is also able to evaluate clients’ demands, comprehend their specifications, and carry on a discussion with ease and fluency.

The robot “Sara” is portrayed as a Saudi girl who adheres to her homeland and enjoys travelling. She has had the chance to visit unusual tourist spots and discover historical sites and archaeological digs. She knows all a tourist needs to know about Saudi Arabia’s cultural richness, as well as local and international happenings.

Notably, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia attended the World Travel Market (WTM) in London through the Saudi tourism system, which was represented by the Ministry of Tourism, the Saudi Tourism Authority, and the Tourism Development Fund.

Additionally, 61 partners, including the Saudi Tourism Investment Company (Asfar), Cruise Saudi, Saudi Airlines, Riyadh Airlines, Red Sea International, the Royal Commission for AlUla Governorate, Diriyah, Qiddiya Investment Company, and NEOM, as well as 17 domestic and foreign hotel brands, shared the event. It is planned to use the expo to announce the opening of a new tourist attraction.

Expanding Reach to Key International Markets

The second phase of the worldwide advertising campaign “Spirit of Saudi Arabia,” which aims to reach many significant foreign markets, has begun concurrently with this year’s participation.

Alongside it, there are more than 1,000 tourist experiences throughout the Kingdom, as well as international and high-quality events like the Riyadh Season, AlUla Festival, Jeddah Calendar, Diriyah Season, Middle Beast, Dakar Rally, Spanish Super Cup, Italian Super Cup, and the Saudi Formula 1 Grand Prix in Jeddah.

The Saudi Winter campaign, which began last October and will run through April 2025, will take place in seven unique destinations: AlUla, Riyadh, Jeddah, the Red Sea, the Eastern Province, Medina, and Hail.

Going back to artificial intelligence, but with a qualitative component, the robot Sara performed on the talent show Arabs Got Talent in its second episode following the premiere of its seventh season last week. By showcasing her singing ability, she stunned the audience and the judges, including Bassem Youssef, Najwa Karam, and Nasser Al-Qasabi.

Bassem Youssef joked with the robot during the voting process, asking, “Why do we have artificial intelligence when we have natural stupidity? After five years, you may be in my position to protect my income and means of subsistence. I say no.” However, he then changed his mind and voted in favour of joining his voice with those of Nasser Al-Qasabi and Najwa Karam, who both approved, giving “Sara” three yes votes.

Sara’s Unveiling: A Milestone in Saudi Tech

At the Leap 23 conference in Riyadh, the Saudi-built humanoid robot Sara was first shown in the Saudi Digital Pavilion. The conference’s opening ceremony marked the launch of the robot. The Saudi robot, which took the shape of a lady, can translate words in any dialect into Saudi colloquial dialect and converse in it yourself.

A fully integrated Saudi cadre produced it in Saudi Arabia. The purpose of the robot Sara is to demonstrate the Saudi market’s potential and the fact that Saudis can produce robots like “Sophia and Imca.” As the first robot of its sort in the world, work is now underway to create Sara so that it can compete with other robots in the artificial intelligence space.

Furthermore, Sara can receive and recognise faces and her surroundings, therefore her approach to greeting guests has various storylines and changes depending on the individual and what he wants to achieve.

Characterised by her Saudi features, the robot “Sara” has a camera and sensors, eleven muscles on her right and left hands, and eleven muscles on her face. She claps, moves, and makes expressions of surprise, joy, and grief.