High school student Ahmet Muhammet Kara, inspired by the difficulties he experienced due to his walking disability in his leg, developed the "Yol Arkadaşım" (My Travel Companion) project with his friend Taha Berk Çolak to make life easier for individuals with disabilities.
The project, honored with an award at Üsküdar University's 10th Science and Idea Festival, offers an "audio travel guide" for individuals with disabilities, enabling them to move independently.
Hosted by Üsküdar University, this year's tenth Science and Idea Festival once again showcased projects that offer hope for the future. Among hundreds of projects, the "Yol Arkadaşım" project, developed by students from Türk Telekom Şehit Murat Mertel Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, drew attention with both the solution it offered and its origin story.
“Before this project, I was struggling a lot”
The mastermind behind the project is Ahmet Muhammet Kara, who has a walking disability due to the shortness of his left leg. When he shared his difficulties with his friend Taha Berk Çolak, the first steps of this "unprecedented" project were taken. Ahmet Muhammet Kara stated, "Before this project, I was struggling a lot. Knowing that other disabled people were struggling like me, we wanted to explain their situation to others through this project," indicating that the project aims not only to provide a technical solution but also to build a bridge of empathy.
The biggest obstacle was "GPS deviation"
Taha Berk Çolak, the other partner in the project, stated that the biggest obstacle they encountered during the development process was "GPS deviation." He added, "For a disabled citizen, a deviation that would not be an issue for a normal person means starting all over again. GPS deviations sometimes reached 100 meters. We worked very hard to solve this and eventually managed to reduce this deviation to 3-4 meters by using latitude-longitude instead of GPS."
So, what does "Yol Arkadaşım" do?
"Yol Arkadaşım" is an audio travel guide application that enables individuals with disabilities to move independently while traveling. The application describes, with voice commands, how an individual with a disability can reach their desired destination via the easiest and most accessible route. The project team not only created a technical infrastructure but also gathered feedback by presenting the project to over 100 citizens in Pendik. They even adapted the application's interface for colorblind individuals, following a suggestion from a colorblind citizen.
Next up: artificial intelligence and Morse code
Taha Berk Çolak and Ahmet Muhammet Kara, who have been working on this project for approximately a year, continue to develop the application. Their next goals include adding written commands via Morse code and a "Siri"-like artificial intelligence assistant for visually impaired individuals. Taha Berk Çolak explained the project's future vision, stating, "Our goal is for a visually impaired individual to say, 'My travel companion, list nearby places!' and for the application to verbally list the closest locations and create a route."
Expansion across all of Turkey is targeted!
The application, currently serving on Istanbul's Anatolian side, aims to expand across all of Turkey and even globally over time. The young innovators, aiming to touch the lives of thousands by drawing on a personal difficulty, showcased the finest example of how science and technology can be used for societal benefit at the festival held under the motto 'Inventors Win'. The "Yol Arkadaşım" project received an achievement award, placing 10th in the Health Sciences category, at the festival award ceremony held on May 23.