Environmentally-Conscious Projects from GTU Electronics Engineering Students

January 11, 2024-GTU Office of Press and Public Relations 

Students from Gebze Technical University's (GTU) Department of Electrical Engineering have produced and presented solutions for a more environmentally-conscious and sustainable life in their term projects.

GTU continues its efforts to be a solution partner for institutions, organizations, and sectors with numerous academic and R&D-based projects aimed at creating a sustainable world unaffected by climate change. The culmination of this commitment is evident in the end-of-term projects, such as those seen in the "Fundamentals of Image Processing" course offered by GTU's Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering.

As part of the projects, students presented solutions utilizing image processing techniques for the detection of litter and other waste on beaches and in seas, identification of mucilage, measurement of traffic density, analysis of urban concreting, detection of cigarette butts, nuts, and other waste, energy efficiency in wastewater treatment plants, among many other topics. The presentation, held at GTU Faculty of Architecture's Auditorium, was attended by Prof. Dr. Melek Özkan, the Coordinator of GTU Sustainability Office, who provided insights into sustainability efforts.

Experts from the European Union SMART4ENV project, led by TÜBİTAK MAM Climate Change and Sustainability Vice Presidency, also participated in the event. The experts shared information on climate change and its effects on our country, potential impacts on wastewater treatment and agricultural production, and possible solutions. The importance of interdisciplinary studies was emphasized, and a scientific discussion was held on the contributions of electronic engineers to solving environmental problems and potential areas of work.

The project titles of the students are as follows:

Detection of mucus using image processing methods by Senanur Ağaç and Ekin Çoban

Detection of waste in seas using image processing methods by Ayşegül Yılmaz

Detection of plastic bottles and other waste on beaches using image processing methods by Mehmet Berkay Avcı

Detection of discarded cigarette butts using image processing methods by Toprak Alp

Detection of changes in lake beds using image processing methods by Kutay Şahlankaya

Detection of bubbles in mud using image processing methods by Ümit Kerem Teke

Detection of mud moisture content using image processing methods by Serdar Yusuf Öztürk

Detection of discarded sunflower seed shells using image processing methods by Hüseyin Tolga Önder and Ömer Sinan Özer

Detection of diseases in plant leaves using image processing methods by Merve Tutar and Eda Mislina Aksan

Detection of urban concreting using image processing methods by Samet Yıldız

Detection of traffic density using image processing methods by Mehmet Berk Al

Detection of vehicle license plate locations using image processing methods by Abdülhalim Yaydemir