Contact me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-irem-uygur

She holds a PhD from the University of Tokyo, where her research in indoor localization was inspired by the real-world navigation challenges faced by visually impaired children. Her robotics journey began with a cloth-folding robot project at the University of Glasgow as part of an EU initiative. She later achieved first place in the European Robotics Challenge Simulation Contest with her team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). She worked as a research assistant for humanoid robotics research at the Technical University of Munich and KUKA assembly robot development project at the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

Dr. Uygur has contributed to a wide range of autonomous systems, from a navigation app to assist visually impaired individuals, to developing autonomous task, delivery, and warehouse robots for large-scale deployment, achieving Level 4 Autonomy at Haneda Airport, Tokyo, Japan, and passing the MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Japan) examination.

She has received recognitions for her contributions, including the Asia Women Tech Leaders Award, the EmpowHeraccess Generative AI Innovation Award, and finalist honors in the Women in Tech APAC Awards (Most Disruptive Category) and WomenTech Network Global Awards (Software Engineering Leader of the Year). She is also an invited speaker at international conferences and industry events, where she speaks on robotics, AI, accessibility, and inclusive innovation.

Projects

• Full-time:
  • Level 4 Autonomous Towing Truck for a Major Airline ( News, Video)
  • Autonomous Sweeper Project for a Major Manufacturing Company ( Press release, Press release )
  • Vision-based Relocalization System and Dataset Collection Pipeline, 3D Lidar Localization, Behavior System Development for Autonomous Delivery Robot ( Video, News, News)
  • Navigation Assistant System for Visually Impaired People (Video)
  • Lidar-based SLAM for Fork Lift Robot (Video)
  • Vision-based SLAM for Warehouse Robots (Video)
• Research Assistance for
  • Technical University of Munich (TUM) Surface Detection for Humanoid Robot Lola (Video)
  • German Aerospace Center (DLR) KUKA OmniRob: Object Detection for Kuka OmniRob (Video)
  • University of Glasgow Clopema Cloth Folding Robot (News)
• Student Projects
  • Drone Vision-based Navigation
  • Hot Wiring for Kuka Robot Arm
  • Lego Car Autonomous Drive

Publications

• Data Fusion for Sparse Semantic Localization based on Object Detection. Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics.Vol.36 No.2 Apr. 20, 2024 Peer-reviewed.
• Localization in a Semantic Map Via Bounding Box Information and Feature Points. 2021 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integration (SII) Jan, 2021 Peer-reviewed.
• Robust and Efficient Indoor Localization Using Sparse Semantic Information from a Spherical Camera.Sensors 20(15) 4128 – 4128 Jul, 2020 Peer-reviewed.
• A Framework for Bearing-Only Sparse Semantic Self-Localization for Visually Impaired People. 2019 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integration (SII) Jan, 2019 Peer-reviewed.

Thesis

• PhD Thesis: Indoor Localization in an Annotated Map Using Object Detection in 360-degree Image – Precision Engineering Department, The University of Tokyo, Japan.
  • MEXT Scholarship and The Telecommunication Advancement Foundation Grant, Japan
• Master Thesis: Evaluation of the Utility of Reachable Sets for Trajectory Planning in Automated Vehicles, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Munich, Germany

Public Recognitions and Honours

Awards: Asia Women Tech Leaders Award (Winner) 2025, Generative AI Innovation Prestige Award by Women in Cloud (Winner) 2024, Most Disruptive APAC Award by Women in Tech (Finalist) 2024, Software Engineer of the Year Global Award by Women in Tech Network (Finalist) 2024. 

Selected Global Speaking: Wonder Tech Fest (Long Beach USA) 2025, Women in Tech Global Conference – Chief in Tech Session, 2025. 

Interview: Robot Digest Interview 2025.

Robotics Competition: European Robotics Competition(EUROC) Simulation- Pick and Place Contest  (Winner), 2014.

Memberships

• WomenTech Network
• For Empowering Women Japan
• Electrical Engineering Student European Association Local Board Member, and International Board Assistant (Alumnus)
• Hands on Tokyo – Volunteer for Blind Tennis
• Charity for Children with Leukemia – Volunteer for Need Box Filling

Hobbies

• Art History
• Tennis
• Woman’s Professional Volleyball Fan
• Gastronomy