Meet URATech Team
Founders
Dr Ali Haydar GÖKTOĞAN
Founder, CEO & CTO
Ali's desire to assist people with Severe Speech and Motor Impairments (SSMI) was the impetus for the creation of URATech. He holds a PhD in robotics, a GradDip in education, an MSc in computer engineering, a BSc in physics, and a Diploma in electronics. Ali has several decades of multi-disciplinary experience in academia and industry.
Tansel ERSAVAŞ
Co-Founder, CIO
Tansel has 30+ years of experience in developing complex systems. He has been involved in AI systems and robotics since 1998. Recently he set-up and led the "Deep learning initiative" at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. His areas of expertise include deep learning, reinforcement learning, multi-agent massive simulations, visualisations and immersive apps using VR and XR.
Şafak AKINCI
Co-Founder, SW & ML Lead
URATech's Türkiye Representative
Şafak is passionate about developing software for embedded systems that improves people's lives. He holds a BSc degree in computer engineering and mainly focuses on designing, developing and testing embedded software systems in the safety-critical medical field. He is an IEC-62304 Medical Device Software—Software Lifecycle Processes and machine learning expert. Şafak is also Türkiye Representative of URATech.
Ahmet Gökçe BOZAN
Software Engineer
Ahmet Gökçe is a dedicated software engineer known for his collaborative spirit and solution-oriented approach. With over three years of experience, he specializes in creating scalable full-stack applications. He holds a BSc degree in Computer Engineering. His expertise lies in microservices, serverless architectures, web application development, and distributed systems, where he consistently delivers innovative and efficient solutions.
John TRAN
Mechatronics Engineer
John is a talented young engineer with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechatronics, specialising in designing, fabricating, and testing mobile robotic platforms. He used his experience designing and developing Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) for warehouses to create the KOBE (Keep One Breathing Everywhere) robot. It is an award-winning, novel tethered ventilator-carrying robot developed to empower paediatric patients requiring round-the-clock mechanical ventilator support for breathing. John's hands-on experience with robotic mobile platforms and embedded microprocessors is a great asset to our team.
Wenbo HOU (侯文波 )
Mechatronics Engineer
Wenbo is a talented young mechatronics engineer who specialises in designing, fabrication and testing assistive upper-limb exoskeletons. He can use his mechanical design skills to ensure that precision mechanical parts and apparatus are produced quickly and easily. He can control these mechanisms in real-time using a network of embedded microprocessors. Wenbo is the chief designer of the URArm.
Azmi CİBİ
Data Engineer
Azmi is a data engineer with more than four years of experience developing and maintaining petabyte-scale big data pipelines. He holds a bachelor's degree in computer engineering. He has expertise in data lake/datawarehouse design, data modeling, streaming/batch data processing, distributed computing and developing machine learning pipelines.
Şevval YAKAR
Industrial Designer
Şevval, is an industrial designer with a bachelor's degree in Industrial Design and currently pursuing her master's, specialises in product design, UX/UI design, technology interaction, and AI. Her expertise directly contributes to Assistive Technology (AT) by creating intuitive interfaces and integrating innovative technologies, thus enhancing accessibility for individuals with disabilities and improving their quality of life. She passionately seeks to innovate and make a meaningful impact in this field, advocating for inclusive design practices.
Honorary Advisors/Mentors & Product Testers
Dr Alper KAYA
Honorary Advisor/Mentor & Product Tester
Alper is a medical doctor who specialised in ophthalmology. He was diagnosed with motor neuron disease in 1990. Due to pneumonia and acute respiratory failure, he underwent tracheotomy surgery in 2004 to receive ventilator support for breathing. Dr Kaya has had quadriplegia and has been on a ventilator since then.
He uses a computer and writes with the OnScreenKeys virtual keyboard program he developed. He can talk with the help of a ventilator.
He works on music with assistive technology. Eyeharp is the interpreter of Project Assistive Instruments.
Alper is a board member of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)/Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association and the International Alliance of ALS MND Association. He is a member of Eupals (European Organization for Professionals and Patients with ALS) Patient and Carers Expert. He has been a board member of the ALS-MNH Association since 2007.
He wrote his book, called My Index Finger, with a virtual keyboard. His short documentary work, Four Walls, One Window, received the Golden Boll Award. He is a member of Sabancı Foundation Changemakers.
Dr Alper Kaya is an honorary consultant for URATech. He is also a volunteer tester of URATech products.
Hatice ÖZKAN
Honorary Advisor/Mentor & Product Tester
Hatice has master's degrees in computer technologies for teaching, social sciences, distance education, and psychology, and bachelor's degrees in public relations and advertising, sociology, child development, justice and advertising.
Hatice was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 2 when she was ten months old, and she was 98% physically restricted, unable to move any limbs in her body.
Aside from that, she is an extraordinary person with the cognitive functions and skills to speak, communicate, and positively impact people's lives. She raises social awareness with the "Awareness of the Differences and Achievements of People with Disabilities" training in an online open-learning program. Her lectures, achievements, and exemplary personality have positively affected and influenced many people's lives.
Hatice is an honorary consultant for URATech. She is also a volunteer tester of URATech products.
Ali VAR
Honorary Advisor/Mentor & Product Tester
Ali is a photography artist with numerous exhibitions. He was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) about ten years ago. He is unable to speak or move any limbs in his body.
He is an active member of the ALS community in İzmir-Türkiye.
Ali is an honorary consultant for URATech and the father of the idea of URNights. He also serves as a volunteer tester for URATech products.
Join the Team
Would you like to join URATech team?
Please see "Work with URATech" page if you want to join the URATech team.