In its quest to build smart ecosystems in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has launched the much talked about NEOM initiative, which has made news thanks to plans for a car-free city and real-time data collection. But the innovation deployed by the kingdom goes beyond that, since it's also developing a tourism hub powered by sustainable solutions, among other eco-friendly projects.

Much like NEOM, the Red Sea project is also promising a greener gulf, with an entire area out of bounds for fossil fuel driven vehicles, and tech to reduce night time light pollution. But to make sure that construction on the site doesn't have adverse effects on the ecosystem around it, authorities are now using satellites to monitor operations.

Launched as a collaboration with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Tech (KACST), the initiative will track progress on development of real estate over a 28000 sq km area. High quality images delivered by the satellite on a monthly basis, will highlight the environmental impact of the project, and enable authorities to find options to avoid it.

Remote sensing tech, which sends out waves and creates images based on the data reflected, will be used for the purpose of monitoring the natural ecosystem as well as real estate assets. The GeoEye-1 satellite, along with the WorldView satellite and Pleiades satellite, will be deployed to get a bird's eye view of the location.

Enhanced by colour balancing, the images will also provide accuracy through geographical coordinates, and will be available for employees via the firm's building information model. The regular updates will allow those involved in planning to take informed decisions by comparing images to blueprints, hence ensuring sustainable development.

The Red Sea project is being touted as a destination which uses technology, including Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, to create personalised experiences for each individual. It'll also have trackers to monitor carbon footprint of the ops, and will use sensors to measure water salinity.