MATE ROV 2018 Türkiye Underwater Robot Competition Concluded
The MATE ROV 2018 Türkiye Underwater Robot Competition concluded after two intense days at the Olympic Indoor Swimming Pool of Yıldız Technical University, Davutpaşa Campus, on April 28-29. The competition took place in two categories: Explorer and Ranger, for universities and high schools. In the MATE ROV Türkiye Explorer-2018 Underwater Robot Competition (University Category), the winners were as follows:
- 1st place: Istanbul Technical University Robotics Team
- 2nd place: Istanbul Gedik University Robotics Team
- 3rd place: Yıldız Technical University IEEE Robotics Team
The international MATE-ROV competition, organized annually since 2002 by the Marine Advanced Technologies Education (MATE) Center in California, is held in two phases. Teams that place first or second in their countries can participate in the international competition in the United States, where over 70 robotic teams from various universities and high schools around the world compete each year.
Each team that participated in this year’s competition in Türkiye showcased their unique remote-controlled underwater robot designs, demonstrating their skills underwater. The competition required detailed sub-work, including original mechatronic design, technical documentation, team presentation, and underwater tasks. The ranking results were as follows:
- Istanbul Technical University Robotics Team
- Istanbul Gedik University Robotics Team
- YTU IEEE Robotics Team
- Karadeniz Technical University Robotics Team
- Başkent University Robotics Team
- Yıldız Technical University Robotics Team
- Piri Reis University Robotics Team
In the Ranger category for high schools, Alev Schools Robotics Team won first place.
Prof. Dr. Zafer Utlu, Rector of Istanbul Gedik University, also attended the event. Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Savaş Dilibal, the coordinator of the Robotics Team, emphasized the importance of underwater robotics research and competitions in a country surrounded by seas. He noted that Istanbul Gedik University, in collaboration with GeKa Robot, is intensively working on underwater robotic systems as well as industrial robots within the university-industry collaboration framework.
Istanbul Gedik University Robotics Team Members:
- Dr. Öğr. Ü. Savaş Dilibal (Coordinator)
- Kerem Urcan (Mentor)
- Fatih Çakır (4th Year Mechatronics Engineering Student)
- Furkan Çetinkaya (4th Year Mechanical Engineering Student)
- Devkan İçli (3rd Year Mechatronics Engineering Student)
- Dilara Altay (3rd Year Mechatronics Engineering Student)
- Esra Yuğuran (3rd Year Mechatronics Engineering Student)
- Umut Macit (3rd Year Mechatronics Engineering Student)
- Esat Karakaya (2nd Year Mechatronics Engineering Student)
- Enes Sönmez (2nd Year Mechatronics Engineering Student)
- Abdurrahman Lale (2nd Year Mechatronics Engineering Student)
- Batuhan Ecevit (1st Year Electrical-Electronics Engineering Student)
