Unmanned vehicles provide the opportunity to perform tasks quickly, conveniently and more reasonable without endangering user safety. The aim of the laboratory is to introduce, design and implement the functions of marine vehicles in terms of modeling, hardware, CFD analysis, software, control methods and trajectory planning. In this regard, it is to create a bridge between other research laboratories and innovation institutions, domestic and international universities, undergraduate and graduate students and programs, industrial organizations and technology competition groups.

The foundations of the Marine Robotics Research Laboratory (DRAL) were laid in 2007 within the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering at Kocaeli University, with studies on underwater vehicles. The laboratory has made significant progress in areas such as depth and direction control, image processing, hydrodynamic modeling, sonar data processing, trajectory planning and autonomous systems through a TUBITAK-supported project and in-university scientific research projects. DRAL, which provides technical, infrastructure facilities, design and theoretical support to teams that have won awards in national and international competitions with original underwater vehicles such as "Lucky Fin", "Red Fin" and "Kılavuz AURA", also functions as an applied learning and R&D center where students actively participate. The laboratory continues to contribute to our country's underwater robotic technologies with the application of advanced control algorithms in simulation and real systems, original software development and interdisciplinary teamwork.

1) ACHIEVEMENTS

Fig.2. KOU IEEE ROV and AURA Teams from Kocaeli University became finalist in Teknofest Underwater Techhologies Competition (2023)

Fig.4.  Participated to the 27th International Underwater Technology Symposium, UT 2025, organized by the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society in Grand Hotel Taipei from March 2-5.

KILAVUZ AURA Team Vehicle’s "Pool Tests for Pipeline Tracking" Before Teknofest 2025 Mavi Vatan Competition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGDu5FNixAY

At the JAMSTEC 2025 Underwater Robots Congress, organized by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) on August 23–24, 2025, in Yokosuka/Kanagawa, our university and department were represented by the Kocaeli University MARAS Team with the Red Fin Underwater Vehicle in the video category, where remotely participating teams competed. The teams that passed the preliminaries conducted by the Technical Program Committee were announced on JAMSTEC’s official website. You can watch the competition teams’ videos through the link below: https://jam25.underwaterrobonet.org/video/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asel7f4LDxc

2) BACKGROUND of the LABORATORY

2.1. Marine Robotics Research Laboratory (DRAL) KOU Electronics and Communications Department have  started underwater vehicle studies such as depth control applications on 2007 (Fig.1 and Fig.2).    

Fig.2.  Devecioğlu, Ö., 040208020, Graduation Thesis,  Depth Control of a Microcontroller-Based Underwater System with PID, Advisor: Serhat YILMAZ, Kocaeli University, Electronics and Communication Engineering Department , Kocaeli (2009).

2.2. LUCKY FIN Underwater Vehicle (2013)

The TÜBİTAK Project titled “Design of an Experimental Platform for Depth and Direction Control Applications” (Project No: 111E294), managed by S. YILMAZ is accepted in 2013. The project laid the groundwork for the department’s activities in this field and the foundation of our laboratory. First underwater vehicle developed from the Project is Lucky Fin, a 4 DOF underactuated remotely operated vehicle (Fig.3-5).

Lucky Fin’s electronic cards are designed and control interface programs are developed by students of KOU Electronics and Communication Engineering Department (Fig.6).

The first underwater vehicle developed under this project, Lucky Fin, won first place in the Explorer Category of the MATE ROV 2016 International ROV Competition – Turkey stage, held in 2016, and represented our country at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in the NASA Johnson Space Center (Houston, Texas, USA) Fig.8.  Each team member was thanked by the Rector of Kocaeli University and the MATE-ROV Türkiye representative.

Lucky Fin can detect a target object with a specific color or shape using the Hough Algorithm in OpenCV Libraries. The algorithm determines the center position and radius of the object. This information allows Lucky Fin to track the object semi-autonomously with yaw and surge control (Fig.9). 

2.3. Modelling  Stages, Computational Fluid Dynamic Analysis and RED FIN UV (2022)

To facilitate experimental validation in a small pool environment, the Red Fin uv was designed to be 1/4 the size of the Lucky Fin, which is smaller and more suitable for experimental replications. Red Fin is developed within the scope of an Kocaeli University Scientific Research Project (Project No: FDK-2022-3008 ). In this project, hydrodynamic parameters of the vehicle is extracted by means of Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) Analysis, experimental validations and empirical methods. Once the full dynamic model is extracted,  it is used in control simulations of the vehicle (Fig.10-14).

Fig. 14. a) Flowchart of the Improved Salp Swarm Algorithm (ISSA) and Classical SSA,    b) ISSA based AUV position and velocity control system block diagram    c) Orbit tracking simulation result (2023-2024), Gülten YILMAZ, Rem ALMAHADGI, Muhammed ÇEBERLİ, Türel YILMAZ et. Al. 

These applications have fostered a technology team culture among our departments and students, raised awareness, created a solid theoretical foundation, and aimed to institutionalize this framework. The consistent achievements of our faculty’s Underwater Systems Teams (such as Lucky FIN (2016), GALLIPOLI (2018), KOU IEEE ROV (2023), KILAVUZ AURA (2023,2024) and the KOÜ underwater teams leading them) including original software development and multiple competition wins, are the results of this established culture (Figures in the Main Page).

In 2024, KILAVUZ AURA Team from Kocaeli University made our Electronics and Communication Engineering department proud by receiving the first prize and the most original software prize at the Teknofest Underwater Technologies Competition. Our Head of Electronics and Communication Department Prof. Dr. Bahattin Türetken, our Governor İlhami Aktaş and our Rector Prof. Dr. Nuh Zafer Cantürk congratulated Kılavuz AURA Team and Advisors Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aysun Çelebi on her success ((Figures are in the Main Page).

2.4. Our Mission to Increase Global Visibility of our University

One of the duties of the laboratory is to increase the international recognition of our Department and our University. In this context, we introduce our projects at international conferences, participate in competitions, and explain our university and our work to groups abroad. We are always open to bilateral collaborations.

Laboratorty staff Dr. Serhat YILMAZ did postdoctoral research on Marine Robotics under the direction of Professor.Dr.  Gianluca ANTONELLI at Cassino and Southern Lazio University, Electric and Information Engineering Department, Robotic Laboratory, Cassino/ Italy, 2016-2017 (Fig.15). 

Fig.15.  Marine Robotics Researches under the direction of Professor Gianluca ANTONELLI in University of Cassino and South Lazio, Engineering Faculty, Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Robotics Laboratory, Cassino-Italy,  between 2016-2017.

Professor Dr. Kimitoshi YAMAZAKİ has been visited in Shinshu University, Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Nagano/JAPAN, 2019. Kocaeli University Faculty of Engineering Flag was presented to him and issues that could be done jointly in the field of Visual Servoing Appliations  were discussed ( Fig.16.a.) Paper titled “Salp Swarm Algorithm Based Fractional Order PID Controller Design for Trajectory Tracking Simulation of an Underactuated Underwater Vehicle Model” is participated and presented in the 27th International Underwater Technology Symposium, UT 2025, organized by the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society in Grand Hotel Taipei from March 2-5. The symposium was attended by 200 participants from all over the world, including one from Türkiye, and an international community was formed rom 17 countries. Technical presentations included 81 oral presentations and 30 student posters (Figure.16.b). Prof.Dr. 

Fig.16. a) Professor Dr. Kimitoshi YAMAZAKI and his Research Group have been visited in Shinshu University, Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Nagano/JAPAN, December 2019                    b) 27th International Underwater Technology Symposium, UT 2025, organized by the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society in Grand Hotel Taipei/TAIWAN from March 2-5.  With Organizers Honorary Co-Chairs Dr. Tamaki Ura, Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo.  Co-Chairs Dr. Jenhwa Guo, National Taiwan University.