Research

Jul 2, 2026·
Ömer Kurkutlu
Ömer Kurkutlu
· 1 min read
research

My research focuses on developing intelligent autonomous robotic systems capable of operating safely and efficiently in complex real-world environments. I am particularly interested in perception-driven autonomy for resource-constrained robots, combining computer vision, deep reinforcement learning, and embedded AI.

My current research directions include:

  • Vision-Based Autonomous Navigation using monocular cameras
  • Tiny Drone Autonomy for indoor and GPS-denied environments
  • Vision-Language-Action (VLA) Models for robotic navigation
  • Deep Reinforcement Learning for obstacle avoidance and motion planning
  • TinyML and Edge AI for battery-powered and batteryless devices
  • Simulation-to-Real Transfer using ROS, Gazebo, Isaac Sim, and Webots

My long-term goal is to develop intelligent robotic systems that can perceive, reason, and navigate autonomously while operating under strict computational and energy constraints.

Ömer Kurkutlu
Authors
PhD Candidate in Electrical and Computer Engineering
I am a PhD Candidate in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois Chicago. My research focuses on autonomous robotics, vision-based navigation, reinforcement learning, TinyML, embedded AI, and resource-constrained robotic systems.