Hasan Kalyoncu University’s (HKÜ) MERGENİYE Team secured third place in the University Category of the Unmanned Underwater Systems Competition, held in Gölcük as part of TEKNOFEST 2026 Mavi Vatan.
Bringing together students from software, computer, mechanical, electrical and electronics, and aerospace engineering, the MERGENİYE Team, supported by HKÜ and Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, successfully represented Hasan Kalyoncu University in the competition with its unmanned underwater vehicle.
Commenting on the achievement, HKÜ Rector Prof. Dr Gül Rengin Küçükerdoğan said: “It is extremely valuable for us to see students from different engineering disciplines come together around a common goal and transform their knowledge and expertise into home-grown and original technologies. This achievement at an important event such as TEKNOFEST is a strong indication of our students’ culture of innovation, development and collaboration. I congratulate our HKÜ MERGENİYE Team and all the academics who contributed to this success.”
The vehicle was developed by a team under the academic supervision of Research Assistant Yeşim Görür from the Department of Software Engineering at HKÜ’s Faculty of Engineering, with third-year Software Engineering student Mehmet Fatih İnal serving as team captain. Equipped with sensors, camera systems and control algorithms, the vehicle is capable of perceiving its surroundings and operating autonomously without human intervention. Designed to withstand pressure conditions at depths of approximately 50 metres, the vehicle can move forwards and backwards, left and right, as well as up and down. Its aluminium body and modular electronic architecture provide durability, lightness and ease of further development.
