Innovative Robotic Systems for Societal Impact
Date: January 16, 2026 (Friday)
Time: 13:30
Venue: EA-101
ABSTRACT
As robotics rapidly transitions from factory environments to unstructured settings, the need for adaptability, safety, and intelligence becomes critically important. In this talk, I will present my current research focusing on the design, development, and translation into practice of robotic systems that address these fundamental challenges in two areas: healthcare and sustainability.
In the first part of my talk, I will focus on medical soft robotics studies that aim to navigate safely through the most difficult-to-access and delicate regions of the body. I will introduce two innovative soft robotic solutions we have developed for endoscopic procedures. First, I will describe the growing soft robot developed for colonoscopy by discussing in detail the pneumatic propulsion mechanism that is the subject of an approved patent. Second, I will present the wireless, millimeter-scale magnetic soft robots we designed for capsule endoscopy, focusing on a new magnetization strategy developed for wireless actuation.
In the second part of my talk, I will discuss robotics for sustainability and introduce SHEREC, the Horizon Europe project we are currently carrying out. As the Coordinator of this project, I will explain how we are developing robotic and artificial intelligence solutions to improve worker safety and prevent environmental pollution in the ship recycling sector. I will introduce two mobile manipulators capable of performing semi-autonomous cutting tasks, as well as AI-based methods for creating digital inventories of hazardous materials.
My long-term goal is to develop unprecedented procedures by integrating innovative robotic systems into real-world applications. In this direction, I will share my vision for the future of robotics, focusing on next-generation robots that aim to address critical societal challenges.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Evren Samur is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Boğaziçi University and the founder of Samurai Robotics & AI, a spin-off company within the university. He received his bachelor’s degree from METU in 2003, his master’s degree from Koç University in 2005, and his Ph.D. in Robotics from EPFL in Switzerland in 2010. His doctoral dissertation received the EuroHaptics Society Best Ph.D. Thesis Award in 2010. Dr. Samur worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Northwestern University in 2011 and was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at Boston University in 2021.
His research mainly focuses on soft robotics and medical robotics, while also covering broader areas such as industrial robotics, marine robotics, and haptic feedback. Dr. Samur has served as principal investigator in many projects supported by TÜBİTAK and the EU, including a Marie Curie Career Integration Grant. He is currently the coordinator of the SHEREC project funded under the Horizon Europe program. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and a member of IFToMM, and he serves as an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Robotics Research (IJRR) and ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction (THRI).
CONTACT
Ela Baycan, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bilkent University
Email: ela@bilkent.edu.tr