Turkish students develop AI, robotics for disaster preparedness in earthquake-prone nation

NVIDIA is enabling AI-driven disaster response innovation in Türkiye and Syria through strategic grants following the devastating 2020 earthquake. The company’s collaboration with Bridge to Türkiye Fund has provided 100 Jetson Nano Developer Kits and $50,000 in funding to eight awardees, powering projects ranging from search-and-rescue robotics to pathogen detection systems. These initiatives demonstrate how emerging AI technologies can enhance preparedness for future disasters while supporting regional education in robotics and embedded systems.

The big picture: NVIDIA’s Disaster Response Innovation and Education Grant is yielding tangible results in areas hit by a deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake that claimed 55,000 lives and displaced millions.

• Recipients are developing AI-powered tools specifically designed for post-disaster scenarios, including unmanned vehicles for search operations and pathogen screening technologies.
• The grant program strategically combines hardware resources with financial support, providing both Jetson Nano Developer Kits and $50,000 in divided funding.

Key innovations: Four primary projects highlight how AI and robotics can transform disaster response capabilities.

• Ankara University researchers built a modular unmanned ground vehicle equipped with thermal and RGB-D cameras that can perform 3D environmental scanning and detect human thermal signatures in disaster zones.
• Hacettepe University integrated Jetson-based projects into coursework, training students to build “Duckiebots” with mapping capabilities that could navigate dangerous environments like collapsed buildings.
• Bilkent University developed a mini supercomputer cluster for rapid on-site metagenomic analysis, enabling quick identification of pathogens in disaster-affected regions.

Educational impact: The program extends beyond immediate disaster response to build regional technical expertise.

• The Izmir Institute of Technology has leveraged the grant to provide nearly 80 undergraduate students with hands-on experience in AI, accelerated computing, and robotics.
• This educational component creates a pipeline of skilled developers who can continue innovating disaster-response technologies in a region particularly vulnerable to earthquakes.

Why this matters: Integrating AI and robotics into disaster response could significantly reduce casualties and improve recovery efforts in future catastrophes by enabling faster searches, safer operations, and better resource allocation.