Yasin Atılkan

Research Assistant, Ankara University. PhD Candidate in Computer Engineering.

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Contact

yatilkan@ankara.edu.tr

Education

  1. Feb. 2024 - Present

    PhD in Computer Engineering

    Ankara University, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences

    Department of Computer Engineering. Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Mehmet Serdar Güzel. Status: Ongoing. Thesis title: Deep Reinforcement Learning in Contact-Rich Robotic Manipulation Tasks.

  2. Sep. 2020 - Sep. 2023

    MSc in Computer Engineering

    Erciyes University, Department of Computer Engineering

    Advisor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Fehim Köylü. Graduated with a GPA of 3.88 / 4.00. Thesis on autonomous system design by modeling vehicle overtaking with deep reinforcement learning.

  3. Sep. 2013 - Jun. 2018

    BSc in Computer Engineering

    Süleyman Demirel University, Department of Computer Engineering

    Graduated with a GPA of 3.17 / 4.00. Completed English Preparatory Program. Senior project on mobile game development with augmented reality.

  4. Sep. 2016 - Jul. 2018

    Associate Degree in Web Design and Coding

    Anadolu University, Open Education Faculty

    Graduated with a GPA of 2.69 / 4.00.

Employment

  1. 2023 - Present

    Research Assistant

    Ankara University, Department of Artificial Intelligence and Data Engineering

    Research and teaching support in artificial intelligence, data engineering, programming, machine learning, and deep learning courses.

  2. 2018 - 2019

    Reserve Officer

    Turkish Armed Forces

    Completed military service as a reserve officer.

  3. 2017

    Software Intern

    Vega Yazılım

    Software development internship.

  4. 2016

    Hardware Intern

    Electro Mechanic Devices Factory

    Hardware-focused internship experience.

Research Interests

  • Deep Reinforcement Learning
  • Robot Learning
  • Contact-rich Robotic Manipulation
  • World Models
  • Autonomous Systems
  • Machine Learning for Biological Data
  • Data Engineering

Publications

2025
PublishedSelected

Enhancing crayfish sex identification with Kolmogorov-Arnold networks and stacked autoencoders

Yasin Atılkan, Berk Kirik, Eren Tuna Acikbas, Fatih Ekinci, Koray Acici, Tunc Asuroglu, Recep Benzer, Mehmet Serdar Güzel, Semra Benzer

Scientific Reports, 16, Article 3971

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-34095-z

This study investigates crayfish sex identification using traditional machine learning, deep learning, Kolmogorov-Arnold networks, and autoencoder-based feature extraction. It highlights the potential of hybrid artificial intelligence models for biological classification problems.

  • Machine Learning
  • Deep Learning
  • Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks
  • Autoencoders
  • Crayfish
  • Classification
2024
PublishedSelected

Advancing crayfish disease detection: A comparative study of deep learning and canonical machine learning techniques

Yasin Atılkan, Berk Kirik, Koray Acici, Recep Benzer, Fatih Ekinci, Mehmet Serdar Güzel, Semra Benzer, Tunc Asuroglu

Applied Sciences, 14(14), 6211

DOI: 10.3390/app14146211

This study compares deep learning and canonical machine learning techniques for crayfish disease detection using an imbalanced dataset. It explores hybrid approaches that combine deep feature extraction with traditional classifiers.

  • Machine Learning
  • Deep Learning
  • Disease Detection
  • Crayfish
  • ResNet50
  • Classification
2024
PublishedSelectedTurkish

Otonom araçlarda derin pekiştirmeli öğrenme yöntemleri ile sollama

Overtaking with deep reinforcement learning methods in autonomous vehicles

Fehim Köylü, Yasin Atılkan

Niğde Ömer Halisdemir Üniversitesi Mühendislik Bilimleri Dergisi, 13(2), 429-439

DOI: 10.28948/ngumuh.1331354

This article studies the autonomous overtaking problem using deep reinforcement learning methods, including curriculum learning-based training strategies for autonomous vehicle decision-making.

  • Deep Reinforcement Learning
  • Autonomous Vehicles
  • Curriculum Learning
  • Overtaking
  • PPO
  • DQN
  • A2C

Thesis

Master's Thesis2023Turkish

Autonomous system design by modeling the problem of passing the front vehicle with deep reinforcement learning method

Erciyes University, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences. Department of Computer Engineering

Supervisor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Fehim Köylü. Status: Completed.

My master's thesis focused on modeling the autonomous overtaking problem using deep reinforcement learning and designing an autonomous decision-making system for autonomous vehicles.

Projects

ActiveFeatured

Contact-rich Robotic Manipulation with Deep Reinforcement Learning

Ongoing PhD research titled Deep Reinforcement Learning in Contact-Rich Robotic Manipulation Tasks, with an emphasis on insertion and assembly-style robot learning problems.

  • Deep Reinforcement Learning
  • Robot Learning
  • Contact-rich Manipulation
  • Peg-in-hole
CompletedFeatured

Autonomous Overtaking with Deep Reinforcement Learning

Master's thesis and journal publication work on autonomous overtaking as a deep reinforcement learning decision-making problem for autonomous systems.

  • Deep Reinforcement Learning
  • Autonomous Driving
  • Autonomous Overtaking
  • Curriculum Learning
  • PPO
  • DQN
  • A2C
CompletedFeatured

Crayfish Disease Detection with Machine Learning and Deep Learning

Published research comparing deep learning and canonical machine learning techniques for crayfish disease detection using an imbalanced dataset.

  • Machine Learning
  • Deep Learning
  • Disease Detection
  • Crayfish
  • Classification
CompletedFeatured

Crayfish Sex Identification with KANs and Stacked Autoencoders

Published research on crayfish sex identification using traditional machine learning, deep learning, Kolmogorov-Arnold networks, and stacked autoencoders.

  • Machine Learning
  • Deep Learning
  • Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks
  • Autoencoders
  • Crayfish

Teaching

  • Fall 2023-2024: YZM101, YZM201, YZM205 - Teaching Assistant
  • Spring 2023-2024: YZM102, YZM208 - Teaching Assistant
  • Fall 2024-2025: YZM101, YZM201, YZM311 - Teaching Assistant
  • Spring 2024-2025: YZM212, YZM304 - Teaching Assistant
  • Fall 2025-2026: YZM101, YZM211, YZM319 - Teaching Assistant
  • Spring 2025-2026: YZM304 - Teaching Assistant

Selected Service

  • Teaching assistant support for undergraduate programming and AI/data engineering courses
  • Course material and laboratory support
  • Student support in programming, algorithms, machine learning, and deep learning courses