Purpose of the Center

ITU Aerospace Research Center (ITU ARC) conducts interdisciplinary research, design, development, testing, and application studies in the field of aerospace technologies. The Center supports academic and industrial research in areas such as guidance, navigation and control, avionics systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, AI-supported air transportation, smart materials, nanomaterials, and advanced composite structures.

Mission of the Center

The main mission of ITU ARC is to develop innovative solutions for aerospace technologies by establishing strong collaboration among the university, industry, and international research organizations. The Center supports the participation of undergraduate and graduate students in research activities, promotes knowledge generation through national and international projects, and contributes to the transfer of developed technologies into practical applications.

Research Groups

• Artificial Intelligence, Guidance, Navigation and Control Research Group
• Avionics Research Group
• Nanomaterials, Textiles and Advanced Composites Research Group

Research Areas

Research activities carried out within the Center focus on the following main topics:

• Guidance, navigation, control, and avionics systems
• Modeling, simulation, and control of aerial vehicles
• High-level autonomy and unmanned aerial vehicles
• AI-supported smart air transportation and air traffic management
• Decision support systems, command-control systems, and air operations management
• Nanomaterials, smart textiles, and advanced composite structures
• Functional materials based on carbon nanotubes, graphene, boron nitride nanotubes, and nanofibers
• Structural composites, sensors, energy storage, and additive manufacturing applications for aerospace systems

Facilities

ITU ARC has various laboratory, testing, experimental, computational, and applied research infrastructures. The main facilities of the Center include:

• Cyber Airspace: A 10 x 7 x 6 m motion capture area equipped with 8 cameras, enabling high-frequency tracking of the position and orientation of multiple objects. It is used for testing artificial intelligence, motion planning, and control algorithms.
• Avionics Laboratory: A multi-purpose electronics laboratory that supports the design, prototyping, and testing of UAV systems, communication links, and ground station avionics.
• UAV Integration and Mechanical Design Laboratory: Used for the design, manufacturing, integration, and flight preparation of UAV mechanical subsystems. It provides rapid prototyping and composite manufacturing capabilities.
• Composite and Additive Manufacturing Laboratory: Supports the design, analysis, and manufacturing of laminated and sandwich polymer matrix composite structures. The laboratory includes hand lay-up, vacuum infusion, hot press, autoclave, and 3D printing infrastructure.
• Chemical Process Laboratory: Provides infrastructure for advanced material production processes such as polymer synthesis, electrospinning, electrospraying, and polymer film coating.
• Nanomaterial Synthesis Laboratory: Focuses on the synthesis and optimization of carbon- and boron nitride-based nanostructures and the development of nanocomponents for nanocomposite applications.
• Advanced Characterization Laboratory: Includes advanced testing equipment for the mechanical, thermal, and rheological characterization of innovative materials developed at the Center.
• Smart Air Transportation and Artificial Intelligence Office: Provides working and computational infrastructure for researchers working on air traffic management, artificial intelligence, and industrial research projects.
• ITU ARC Orencik UAV Test Field: Located in Catalca, this test field is used for UAV flight tests, outdoor experiments, and system validation studies.
• B737-800 Research Simulator: Enables the testing of flight procedures, trajectory management algorithms, pilot decision support systems, and electronic display concepts.
• TAI Hurjet Research Simulator: Used for testing advanced autonomy systems, terrain-following flight, navigation in GNSS-denied environments, automatic ground collision avoidance, and flight safety algorithms for next-generation fighter aircraft.

Projects and Collaborations

ITU ARC carries out studies within the scope of European Union-funded projects, international industrial projects, national industry projects, and national research grants. Since 2015, the Center has built a strong research portfolio in aerospace technologies with more than 10 million USD in research funding.

Management

ITU ARC operates with the contributions of academic and industrial members from different disciplines in the field of aerospace technologies. The Center management and main research group leaders are listed below:

• Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Ozkol: Director of the Center
• Prof. Dr. Hulya Cebeci: Leader of the Nanomaterials, Textiles and Advanced Composites Research Group
• Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emre Koyuncu: Leader of the Artificial Intelligence, Guidance, Navigation and Control Research Group
• Asst. Prof. Dr. Ramazan Yeniceri: Leader of the Avionics Research Group

Introductory Video and Images

The introductory video of ITU Aerospace Research Center can be accessed through the link below:

ITU ARC Introductory Video

Images from the Center

Contact

Web: https://arc.itu.edu.tr/
Email: arc_info@itu.edu.tr
Phone: +90 212 285 7554
Address: ITU Aerospace Research Center, Maslak, Istanbul

Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics Laboratories:
ITU Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 3rd Floor, Room No: 312-315
Phone: +90 212 285 3148