Batman Türk Telekom Anatolian High School students Eren Aygün, Sinan Güneş and Eyüp Bilir started a study to find solutions to the communication problems of the patients after they learned that their English teacher Emre Arslan lost his father due to ALS. After a long research and development process, students developed an artificial intelligence-supported, multilingual and low-cost mobile application that works with eye movements. The project came second in Türkiye in the field of software in the TÜBİTAK 2204-A High School Students Research Projects Competition held in Ankara between 25-29 May. Later, it was selected by TÜBİTAK as one of the 14 projects that will represent Türkiye in the Regeneron ISEF Science and Engineering Competition held in Arizona, USA.
THEY RETURNED FROM THE USA WITH 2 AWARDS
In the competition held between 9-15 May 2026 at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona, the students achieved significant success by winning both the Grand Award and the Special Award.
To date, the application has been tested on a total of 108 people, including 8 paralyzed patients. While it was stated that a 93 percent success rate was achieved in the tests, it was stated that the positive feedback received from the patients and their relatives increased the motivation of the students to develop the project. Students returning from the USA were welcomed with flowers by their teachers and friends at school.
‘WE CROWNED THIS PROCESS WITH WORLD RANKING’
Emre Arslan, the advisor teacher of the project, stated that the study has a meaning beyond a scientific research for him and said, “I lost my father due to ALS disease. That’s why this project, which I supervised, is actually a deep debt of loyalty for me, far beyond a scientific study. Of course, we crowned this process with a world rating. It is a historical success in a process that started with a very small idea for us, and this international award we received is dedicated to both my students, whose determination I am proud of, and to the cherished memory of my dear father, who inspired this project.”
‘IT IS A SOLUTION TO SOCIAL ISOLATION’
Eren Aygün, one of the students, stated that the system they developed makes it easier for paralyzed individuals to communicate and said, “We have developed a system where paralyzed individuals can communicate using their eye movements. This system actually works as follows. It detects eye movements and then converts them into sentence predictions with our own local model in the device. Patients can communicate in this way. This project appeals to all paralyzed individuals, especially ALS patients. It enables them to communicate and makes their lives significantly easier. We have actually found a solution to this social isolation. We become the voice of these patients. Approximately “We returned with two awards from the competition in which more than 1,350 projects from 80 countries participated,” he said.
‘IT WAS PROUD TO RETURN WITH TWO AWARDS’
Stating that they started the project by being affected by the loss of their teacher, Sinan Güneş said, “The death of our consultant teacher’s father due to ALS affected us deeply and we decided to develop the project. A project that can be used for all paralyzed patients, especially ALS patients, emerged. It was a great pride for us to return to our country by winning two awards from America.”
‘IT WAS A FIRST FOR OUR REGION’
Eyüp Bilir, one of the students, said, “Returning to Batman from America with two awards was a first for our region and this is truly a source of pride for us. We started with a small idea. We developed this project by believing and working. We turned it into an application that all paralyzed patients can use. I would like to call out to my friends who want to do such projects. If an idea arises in your mind, you can achieve anything by working and getting help from your teachers.”
