Yıldız Technical University’s Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Takes Third Place at TAC Challenge

Students from Yıldız Technical University formed the CASMarine Unmanned Underwater Systems Team, bringing together 11 academic departments to design the Velaryon 2.0. The vehicle is 80 % domestically engineered, featuring a custom‑made motherboard, power‑distribution board, battery‑management system and control station built from scratch. Its AI‑driven software and eight motors allow six‑axis movement, while a foam buoyancy system and sealed battery compartments ensure stable operation in rough sea conditions. The on‑board servo‑camera and image‑processing algorithms let the craft operate both remotely and fully autonomously for tasks such as seabed mapping, coral‑reef surveys and subsea pipeline inspection.

Competing in Norway’s international TAC Challenge, Velaryon 2.0 earned a third‑place finish, marking a significant achievement for Turkish university robotics on the world stage.