Bursa Uludağ University Autonomous Vehicle Development Group (OTAGG) introduced the autonomous vehicle that will travel around the campus. The designed vehicle was a finalist in the TEKNOFEST Robotaxi Autonomous Vehicle category. OTAGG is managed by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Emir Dirik, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murtaza Cicioğlu and Lecturer Koray Aki from the Computer Engineering Department of the Faculty of Engineering, and Prof. Dr. Fatih Karpat from the Mechanical Engineering Department. OTAGG, consisting of a total of 105 volunteer members, was formed by the coming together of different disciplines under the roof of Bursa Uludağ University (BUÜ). The group also includes members from the Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical-Electronics Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Industrial Engineering departments and other faculties from the Faculty of Engineering. Expert consultants and associate, undergraduate, graduate, doctoral students and graduate members from engineering, science and social science departments of different universities, especially BUÜ, contributed to the vehicle, which has been worked on for a long time. The chassis and shell production of the vehicle was carried out by the group members. The OTAGG-01 original autonomous vehicle developed for the Robotaxi Autonomous Vehicle category of TEKNOFEST to be held this year has made it to the finals.

IT WILL BE ABLE TO MOVE WITHOUT NEEDING A HUMAN
Providing information about the project, BUÜ R&D Deputy Coordinator and OTAGG General Manager Lecturer Koray Aki said; “Our vehicle is 2.5 meters long, an autonomous level 4 vehicle. We can move this vehicle autonomously with the help of sensors. The next level is autonomous level 5. There is no steering wheel, brake or gas pedal at this level. The vehicle we are currently making is autonomous level 4. There is a large team behind it. Our team was established under the roof of Bursa Uludağ University and we have advisors from different engineering branches. We have members not only from our own university, but also from other universities in Turkey. We also have members working in different companies. We have members both in Bursa and many parts of Turkey. Our member Korhan Mutludoğan, who was in the management during the establishment phase and is now in Sweden, also provides us with remote support. Our team consists of approximately 105 people. We aim to increase our autonomous vehicle from level 4 to level 5. At this level, our vehicle will be able to move without needing any human assistance,” he said. SPECIAL THANKS FROM RECTOR YILMAZ
BUÜ Rector Prof. Dr. Ferudun Yılmaz emphasized that the student groups and societies at the university continue to undertake extremely valuable projects. Sharing the information that OTAGG has also been conducting a special study for a long time, Prof. Dr. Ferudun Yılmaz said; “This vehicle was developed as a result of long-term studies. We are already in the finals at TEKNOFEST, we want to achieve a degree. There is a special group that developed this vehicle. They work on a voluntary basis. The developed vehicle managed to achieve a degree in valuable competitions such as TEKNOFEST in the short term. Our real goal is much bigger. We have one of the largest campuses in Turkey. In this vast area, we aim for our students, academics and staff to travel from one place to another with autonomous vehicles. This is our long-term goal for this vehicle. When the work is completed, we will have a completely unmanned, slightly larger and wider autonomous vehicle. We sincerely thank everyone who worked and contributed to the project,” he said.

The opening ribbon was cut after the speeches. The program, in which plaques of appreciation were presented to the sponsors who supported the construction of the vehicle, ended after the short demonstration by the students with the OTAGG-01 vehicle.
The launch organized for the vehicle was attended by Vice Rectors Prof. Dr. Cafer Çiftçi and Prof. Dr. Zekeriyya Arı, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Prof. Dr. Adem Akpınar, R&D Coordinator Prof. Dr. Esra Karaca, OTAGG Mentor Bayram Ali Özdemir, OTAGG members, academicians, sponsor companies AİT Digital Printing Systems Founder Hakan Özgür, Tekayadınlar Minibus Design Manager Ebru Taşocak, Seger A.Ş. Technical General Manager Tolga Kumral, Yeşilova Hoşding R&D Manager Fatih Şekerci, Ne-Ka Elektronik Founder Necip Mutludoğan and students also attended.